Under Covers
by samrenee2010
Summary: Modern Day FBI AU: After losing his partner in the line of duty, Supervisory Special Agent Sebastian Poitiers of the FBI is thrown back into the field to stop the son of the FBI's most wanted criminal, and forced to do it next to his new partner, Special Agent Mary Stuart.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 01.**– HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZONE

_-BASH -_

My earpiece was too quiet. I looked to my right, and then to my left to look at my fellow agents and try and guess what they were thinking. They looked just as annoyed as I was. We needed an update. _Something_. "Jewels, what's going on in there?"

My partner, Juliet, was in under with an arms dealer. We were about to bust his ass during a major deal that was supposed to be happening any minute now. Jewels had been under for three months now and we'd begun to lose hope that we would ever nail this bastard. But a miracle happened about four hours ago when she called us and gave us a location and told me to bring backup.

So now, here we were. Sitting in a small, hot goddamn van on the waterfront of Quantico near a storage yard. The meeting was taking place inside a building right on the water.

"Nothing yet, Bash," I heard her quiet voice say in my ear. "He's not looking too happy though."

Our person of interest was Henry Valois, an arms dealer that could actually be labeled a dealer for _anything_ since he seemed to have his hands dipped in every aspect of the business. He basically _owned_ the black market and control every cartel from here to California. The man had a reputation. He had been number one on the FBI's Most Wanted list for the last six months.

My fellow agent, Leith, nudged me. "Bash, Westbrook wants an update."

I sighed. Simon Westbrook was our Section Chief. He was a micromanager. He wanted an update every five minutes. I'd been in Organized Crime for the last five years. Westbrook had been my section chief for two. It's why I hated being in this division now opposed to when I entered it. "Tell him the buyer has yet to arrive."

"We told him that five minutes ago," Leith said.

"And we'll tell him in another five fucking minutes when he calls back _again_!" I said, angry, and keeping my voice down.

In my ear, Jewels said, "Jesus, Bash, calm down."

"How the hell are you talking to me right now?" I asked.

"I snuck off to use the little girls room."

"They actually _have_ one of those in that dump?"

"Technically I had to squat on the sidewalk out back if you wanna get technical—"

"Argh, okay stop!" I said. Leith laughed. He could hear everything too. All of the other agents in the van could. Leith, Penelope, Julien, and Alec. My team on this operation. Leith was nearly the third wheel in all of mine and Jewels' operations. We were practically a squad at this point.

It was silent for a few moments before Alec said, "Incoming car, south west corner."

We all looked at the monitors. The car pulled up slowly and came to a stop. A driver got out and went to the back to open the door. Out stepped Tomas Ramirez. My eyes widened. "Oh my God," I said. "Jewels, the buyer is Tomas Ramirez!"

"The leader of the Mexican drug cartel?!" she asked, her voice ringing in my ear.

"_Yup_," I said, popping on the 'p.'

Penelope, turning to me, asked, "Do you know how high profile this is?! If we catch _both_ of them, we could retire early!"

Julien piped up. "Don't jump the gun, Penny. We don't have them in jail _yet_."

But we would. I _knew_ we would.

We watched the monitors as Tomas walked inside, unguarded, but there was no guarantee he was unarmed. He might have had a gun hidden in his black jacket, or somewhere else on his person. "SWAT commander, this is Poitiers," I said, using my walkie-talkie to call the guys from SWAT. "Are we ready to go on the signal? Over." I released my finger from the button.

A second later, the SWAT commander's voice came on the speaker. "SWAT team is ready and standing by. Over."

We were ready now. Just waiting for Jewels. I could hear voices in my ear, so she was returning to join Valois' group. The 'go signal' was for one of them to say 'Please doing business with you' or something to that effect. So classic, yeah, but we needed a deal to be struck before we could bust them. And to have _two_ high profile criminals arrested in one swoop? Well… Penelope was right. We'd be able to retire by morning.

"_It's all here?_" Ramirex asked.

"_Every bit of it,_" Valois replied. "_Do you have my money?_"

"_Being wired to your Swiss account… now_." He must've had a phone in his hands or something to wirelessly transfer the money at that exact moment. That meant the transaction was nearly complete.

It was silent for several moments. Then Valois said, "_Wonderful. Gentlemen, please give Mr. Ramirez what he came here for. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I look forward to any future transactions we may have_."

"GO!" I shouted and Alec called SWAT on his walkie to let them know we were on the move. I drew my gun from my belt and left the van, following Leith, and leading Penelope and Julien. SWAT was already out of the van and had gotten to Ramirez's driver before we did. Two guys arrested him while the others went in before us into the warehouse. "FBI!" I shouted. "NOBODY MOVE! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"

Jewels drew her gun at that moment and pointed it at Valois. "Sorry, Henry. Looks like you're not gonna be able to use that money for your next vacation."

We had the place surrounded. It was nearly impossible for Valois, Ramirez, or any of Valois' men to escape. I had my gun pointed right at Valois' head. I could take him down easy if I had to. But Jewels was closer. She had a better chance.

Valois didn't look too pleased with Jewels, but he also looked a little impressed that she'd managed to infiltrate his organization without being caught as a fed. "Well I see Little Miss Juliet is a federal agent… if that _is_ your real name."

"Oh it is," she replied. "But no one calls me Juliet. I go by Jewels. Now put your hands on your head and get on your knees." Valois just stood there for a moment. Jewels finally yelled, "GET ON YOUR KNEES!"

Slowly, Valois raised his hands and put them on the back of his head. Then he went to crouch down, and suddenly he moved so quickly that, before I could blink, he had a gun in his hands and shot Jewels in the stomach.

"NO!" I shouted.

Another shot fired, this time it came from Penelope's gun. Ramirez stepped in front of Valois and took the bullet right in the chest for him. Thus, the shootout began.

I wanted to run to Jewels and see if she was still alive, but we had to take these guys down. I fired two shots in Valois' direction but missed, he was moving so fast. "Leith, go around!" I ordered and we split up while SWAT covered us. There was a back door we couldn't let Valois get to.

There were at least two times, as I was running, that I was nearly hit by bullets flying around in all different directions. Fortunately I had the SWAT guys to cover me _and_ I was faster than Valois' men. I got to the back door just as Valois was and I didn't hesitate to tackle him. We struggled and he nearly had me pinned down at one point, but a surge of energy let me overpower him and nail him down on the ground, my knees pinning his arms and I drew my gun again, pointing it at his face.

"It's over, Valois. You _lose_." By this time, Leith was there and we had four SWAT guys surrounding us.

Valois laughed. "It's _never_ over."

"We'll see about that," I said and gestured with my head for the SWAT guys to move in closer. They took Valois' gun away from him and I got up, putting my own gun back in my belt and arrested the bastard. I had Leith take him away while I ran to check on Jewels.

She was bleeding out bad. Penelope had already called an ambulance. Within five minutes they'd arrived, and I rode with them as they escorted her to the nearby hospital where she was taken into emergency surgery. My team met me there as I paced in the waiting room, praying that my partner would be alright. Jewels and I had been working together for years now. She was the closest thing I had to a sister.

Our Section Chief, Westbrook, arrived shortly after. "I came as soon as I heard," he said. I stopped pacing the floor. "How is she?" I shook my head and shrugged, looking down at the ground. We hadn't heard anything yet.

An hour later, the doctor came out, looking grim. _No_, I thought. _Please, God, no_. Then… he delivered the news.

.

Two weeks had come and gone since Jewels had died. I took a break from work and stayed holed up in my apartment in downtown Quantico. Leith and Penelope came to check on me but I never answered the door. They left things outside for me that I eventually got up to bring inside. Baskets with food and such. My partner was dead. I was going to miss the hell out of her.

It was a Monday morning when my phone rang and I saw Westbrook's number pop up. I didn't want to answer it, but if my Section Chief was calling, I had to answer it. "Poitiers," I answered.

"Bash, we need you," I heard him say, but just barely. It wasn't him, it was me and the fact that I didn't want to hear anything.

"No you don't," I said, "we have plenty of agents perfectly capable of doing whatever I can do."

"Listen, Bash, this isn't just any case. It's Valois."

Well… _that_ got my attention. "Did—he _escape_?"

"Not quite. He's resurfaced in other ways. Look, come down to the office now and I'll explain everything to you."

.

I walked in to the office, feeling like the first time all over again. People stared at me, surprised that I was back. But I paid no attention to them as I went to the conference room above the bullpen where Westbrook was waiting for me. "Welcome back, Bash," he said. I nodded and sat down. Westbrook was standing and remained that way. "As I told you on the phone, Valois has resurfaced. He remains behind bars, but his influence has spread wide. Most notably…" he stopped and used a small remote in his hands and bring something up on the monitor that hung on the wall, "his son, Francis."

My eyes widened. "Valois has a _son_?"

"Three of them actually, and a daughter, with his ex-wife, Catherine. Francis is the oldest. He's twenty-five and very skilled in his father's field. Henry had been preparing for him to take over the business if something like this ever happened."

I groaned. "Fantastic," I muttered.

"Francis is running things from their beach house in Miami, Florida. I've already contacted the North Miami Beach Field Office to let them know we're not trying to invade their territory but Valois has been in our jurisdiction from the start." I nodded. That was pretty standard procedure. "Bash… I need you to go under cover. I know it's soon and Juliet just died, but no one knows this case like you do."

I sighed. I couldn't disagree with my Section Chief. Even though I knew I wasn't ready to go back into the field, I had a job to do. "Fine," I said.

"One more thing. We're giving you and new—"

"_Nope_," I said, stopping him. "Do _not_ say 'partner.'"

"Bash, suck it up. As your superior, I'm assigning you a new partner, end of discussion." He looked up. "Ah there she is right now." He walked around the round table to the door. I turned around as he met her. "Agent Stuart, thank you for coming."

The young woman smiled and shook his hand. "Please, call me Mary."

...

A/N: Chapter 02 coming soon! Review to let me know what you think! -heart-


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 02.**– SNAP BACK TO REALITY

_-BASH -_

I looked at the young woman who shook hands with my Section Chief, not recognizing her from our division. She was either new or this was a collaborative effort with another division of the Bureau. She was probably fresh out of the Academy. Normally we'd say 'fresh out of Quantico' but technically we were _in _Quantico. There was no way she was older than me, though. She didn't look like she could have even passed the physical training at the Academy to be allowed in the field. I raised my eyebrows.

Westbrook looked at me. "This is your new partner, Special Agent Mary Stuart from the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

There was no sense in being rude, but that didn't mean I had to welcome her with open arms either. I just held out my hand, not bothering to stand up. Dully, I introduced myself. "Supervisory Special Agent Sebastian Poitiers. But for the love of God, don't call me Sebastian."

Mary looked at Westbrook, a bit confused. So he cleared things up. "He goes by Bash."

"Ah," Mary said and nodded, now fully understanding. Mary took my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, SSA Poitiers."

"Don't call me that either," I said.

"Oh—kay," she said, letting go of my hand a moment later. She seemed a bit taken aback by me, but I didn't give two shits right now how I was coming off. They were going to force me back into this place and dump a new partner on me? I could be a heartless bastard when I was fucked with.

I looked at Westbrook. "Where's the rest of my team?"

"On their way in with their go bags," he answered.

I stood up and said, "Fine. Wheels up in thirty." I walked right in between Mary and Westbrook, heading for the door. I heard Mary's footsteps behind me, trying to catch up since I was walking pretty quickly. "You have a go bag ready?"

"Yes, sir, I—"

"_Wrong_. Rule number one: I only like to be address by _one_ name, and that's "Bash." Don't call me "sir," "Agent Poitiers," "SSA Poitiers," "Sebastian," or anything else. Just "Bash.""

"Um, okay," she said. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Rule number two: Don't apologize. It makes you look weak."

"Who are you? Gibbs from _NCIS_?" she asked.

I stopped and turned to look at her. She stopped and looked apologetic. "Rule number three: I like to make shit up as I go along. It's served me pretty well in the last six years as a field agent. I'm well on my way to being a Special Agent-in-Charge because of it. So _don't_ question me." The look on her face told me she understood, despite her shock. I turned back and started walking again. "Let me guess, fresh out of the Academy?"

"Yes, si—Bash, I graduated last year, top of my class."

"Oh, well, now I understand why they chose you," I said sarcastically. I'd also graduated at the top of my class. I had my pick of where I wanted to go. At first they assignment me to a special mission out in New York for a year and then I came back to work for Organized Crime, which had been my original first choice. I'd been here ever since.

"I've been with the BAU since I graduated," she explained as we left the OC floor and stepped in the elevator. "Section Chief Delacroix selected me personally when—"

"I don't care what your story is," I said. "Rule number four: Always give me the short answer."

She kept her mouth shut after that. We rode the elevator down and once the door opened I found the rest of my team there. "Look, the dead has risen!" Leith said.

"Shut up," I said as I stepped out. "Who's got my go bag?"

"I do," Penelope answered, holding it up in her left hand while her own was in her right.

"Good," I said and headed for the door.

"Um…."

I stopped when I heard Mary sound a little confused. We all turned to look at her. "Yes?" I asked.

"Well it's just that… I'm supposed to ask some of my BAU agents to come along," she explained. "Agent Delacroix was very clear about that."

Fantastic. Just what I needed, more new people to take up space. This was annoying the hell out of me. But I couldn't refuse her Section Chief's orders. All of the Section Chiefs were above me. Going over their head was a death sentence. If I wanted to be a SAC after all of this, I had to at least do what my superiors told me. "Fine. We're on the plane in twenty-five. You're not there? We leave without you." I turned around and lead my team to the door so we could head for the air strip.

.

_-MARY -_

This was going to be a joy.

When I took this job as the new partner of someone in Organized Crime, I at least expected him to act human. But Bash acted like he was some sort of God. Not only that, but one that was pissed off at the world. What was his deal? I understood his partner had been killed a couple of weeks ago, so maybe that was part of it. But he was an agent… he had a _job_ to do.

I got back in the elevator and rode it up to the BAU floor. When I got there, I walked into the bullpen where my fellow agents were. "Alright, listen up. Anderson, Thomas, Warren, Hale, Johnson. You're all with me in Miami. Grab your go bags, we're on a tight schedule." I'd made it to my desk at this point and grabbed my go bag from under it. "My new partner's got something up his ass and I'm not looking to piss him off on day one, though I'm pretty sure I already did."

The five people I called out were up and following me within seconds as I headed back to the elevator. First, Kenna Anderson. We'd been in the same class together at the Academy. She graduated in the top ten and she was brilliant when it came to psychology. Second, Lola Thomas. She was a couple of classes ahead of Kenna and I, but didn't think of us any differently. Out of every agent in the BAU, she was the most clever. She came in handy. Third, Greer Warren. Greer was in the class behind me, so she was _really_ fresh out of the Academy. She needed more experience in the field. Fourth, Aylee Hale. Aylee was in Greer's class and a genius. Her IQ was through the roof, and they actually had to make exceptions to allow her to go into the field since she failed all of the physical requirements. She'd just _barely_ passed to get the right to carry a gun. But her brain was a tool I'd need. Finally, Philip Johnson. Philip had been in the field for a few years and had taken all of us under his wing. He always said they needed more good female agents in the field. We were all like a little think tank once we got together.

.

_-BASH -_

The plane ride to Miami wasn't long. About two hours in the air and we'd landed and headed right for the North Miami Beach Field Office to check in with our contacts. They'd allowed us to work in their territory, though they really didn't have a choice since Valois was Quantico territory from day one. By the time we were finished, it was late. I told everyone to get some rest and we'd meet at six a.m. the next day to get started.

I wasn't going to sleep. I went right to the gym on the third floor of the field office. I threw my bag down in the locker room and changed into my clothes I used to work out in. They'd given me access to a locker so I threw my bag in one and went out into the gym, looking around. It was deserted. Good. I wasn't in the mood to be around people right now. I put my earphones in my ears and made sure my phone was secure to my sweatpants. I was ready to get going, so I turned the volume all the way up to make sure the only thing I could hear was Eminem's _Lose Yourself_… then I started running.

After about thirty minutes of running around the track that surrounded the machines in the gym, I stopped and checked my pulse. It was out of control. I wasn't ready to slow down yet. Looking at my phone, I saw no new messages to my eternal relief, and then changed the song to Linkin Park's _Enth E Nd_ and went over to the punch bag. Securing my phone again, I went to wrap my hands up and punched the bag as hard as I could once. Pause… and then again… shorter pause… and again until the pauses because almost nonexistent and I was punching the shit out of the bag. All I could see was Valois' face. I should have killed him when I had the chance. We'd been debriefed further on the plane. He'd been in contact with his son and Junior was getting ready to take over a huge operation.

I punched the bag until my arms gave out completely. I put my hands on the sides of it, steadying myself to stop the sudden dizzy feeling I was getting and rested my forehead against it. My breathing was labored. There was sweat dripping down my entire body. I'd been here nearly forty-five minutes and I wasn't ready to leave yet. I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to do something I'd spent the last two weeks doing. Then again, I didn't know if I could call it 'sleep.' 'Lying around,' okay sure.

When I was sure I was okay, I ripped my earphones out of my ears and something startled me out of the corner of my eyes. I jumped when I saw someone, and turned to see it was Mary. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, realizing how dehydrated I was now.

"Thought I'd get a work out in before I hit the sheets," she said and tossed me a water bottle. I caught it with ease. "I didn't mean to disturb you." She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and went over to the door of another room. It was an empty room with a mirror wall and bars and a couple of polls. I stayed where I stood but I could see slightly into the room from the open door as she pulled a chair into the center. After that, she went to shut the door, which made it impossible for me to see any more.

Not that I cared to.

.

The next morning I arrived at the field office after a sleepless night. I'd spent another hour at the gym, leaving before Mary did. I arrived with an extra large cup of coffee in my hands and was handed another by Penelope. No one knew me better than my team.

I sat down at the table and opened the file they had for me. "Okay, hit me."

Julien used a small remote to bring up some things on the screen. "Francis Valois is currently taking up residence in the family's beach house in Miami. He's got everything he wants… money, cars, ladies. There's a massive party there every night."

"So the party is our in," I said, looking up from the file.

"Right. You and Mary will go under cover as potential buyers."

Mary, who was sitting about four chairs down from me, asked, "For what?"

Alec answered her. "That's the thing. Valois has connections for _everything_. It doesn't even matter what you're going in to buy for. Drugs, weapons, _whatever_. He's got it."

"In a way," the agent named Lola said, "that makes it more difficult."

I turned and challenged her, "Why's that?"

"This guy's obviously thorough," she answered, looking me straight in the eye. "He wants control. He's got his hands dipped in everything so he can't make any mistakes, but no one can challenge him."

She had a point. Valois was a king. His son was the prince who was preparing to take over. Looking back at my team from OC, I asked, "Did the Bureau send our UC identities?"

Alec slid both Mary and I additional files. "Sebastian and Mary Whittaker, ages twenty-eight and twenty-six, from New York City, but to be more specific Manhattan. You married just last year—"

I stopped him, "Excuse me, _married_?"

"Don't shoot the messenger, Bash," he said. Then he continued. "You married last year, both from old money families. You basically own Wall Street. If the stock market crashes again like it did before the Depression, you're both basically fucked."

"Fantastic," I muttered, sarcastically.

"You're looking to make a deal for whatever it is you decide upon," he continued. "Like I said, you have your pick of the litter."

I looked at Mary who was studying her file closely. "Well then I guess we've got our work cut out for us."

...

A/N: Chapter 03 coming soon! Review review review! -heart- xoxo


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 03.**– PUT EM UP

_-MARY -_

When we were done being briefed, I went back to my hotel room to get ready for the party Bash and I would have to attend tonight to meet Francis Valois. Thankfully I had some pretty beach glam clothes that would suit the occasion. I had Greer come help me with my hair and makeup since she was the fashionista out of all of my friends/fellow agents. Within a couple of hours I was ready. I walked out of the room, nearly running into Bash as I pulled the door shut behind me.

He seemed a little surprised at my appearance. Maybe because I looked like a regular woman and not an FBI agent. He must have been one of those kind of guys who didn't believe women could cut it in the Bureau. I had to wonder what Penelope had to do in order to gain his trust. Then I figured it out and wondered if he'd enjoyed that blowjob and assumed he did since she was clearly the only woman worthy of working with him. That and his dead partner.

"What?" I asked.

Bash shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. "Nothing." Then his mood immediately changed. "Come on, let's get moving."

I rolled my eyes and followed him down the hallway. It was nearly seven and no doubt the blowout at the Valois beach house had already begun. The drive took about a half hour from our hotel, and when we arrived we had to park a ways away from the house on the side of the road. I got out and Bash met me on the sidewalk. We could hear the music from where we were. "My ears might bleed by the end of the night," I said.

"Yours and mine both," he said and started off in the direction it was coming from.

I followed him and soon we were on the property where some old Nelly song was being played at an ear splitting volume. They had a DJ in the backyard. I stepped out to see what was basically a frat party in the works. I leaned in closer to Bash and asked, shouting over the music, "What year is this, two thousand two?!" That actually made him laugh, but I had a feeling it wasn't very legitimate. Maybe I was wrong.

When he went to grab my hand, I nearly pulled away, but then I remembered we were supposed to be married. So I took it and laced my fingers through his. I scanned the crowd for Francis Valois, but Bash found him first. "Over there," he said. "Ten o'clock. He's the one with two half naked girls on his lap."

I looked in that direction. Francis Valois looked nothing like his father. He was blonde and light skinned, but so was his mother, so I could see the resemblance there. There were two ladies, half naked, on his lap like Bash had said. The first was a blonde that I recognized as Olivia Court, who was someone we covered in the files. The Valois and Court families were… well, close. The second I recognized as Natalia Tyson, who was an… well the nicest way to put it was _high class escort_ who'd been picked up by the cops several times.

"Let's go," he said after we both had a chance to observe the scene. He pulled me in that direction, and soon we were within Francis' general area. "Excuse me, Francis Valois?"

Francis looked at us. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked, smiling and very cheerful, but that might've had something to do with the fact that Olivia had her hands down his pants. I didn't have to guess what she was doing.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm Sebastian Whittaker and this is my wife, Mary."

"Hello," I said with a smile.

Francis forced the girls off of his lap and grabbed a towel, wiping his hands off before offering them to us. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I said. And I actually meant it. Because I enjoyed nothing more than bringing down a criminal.

Bash said, "We were actually hoping to do a little… business with you, when you have the time."

"Oh, please," Francis said, "Now is perfect. Come, please, follow me." He put one hand on each of our backs and led us away from the scene. We were swept into the house and went up the stairs to a large room that appeared to be an office. It was only confirmed when the lights popped on. Francis grabbed a robe and put it on, hitting a button by the light switch to shut the blinds. "So, how can I help you folks today?" he asked, inviting us to sit down in the chairs in front of the desk while he went to sit behind it.

I went to sit, following Bash's lead. "Mr. Valois—" Bash started.

Francis held up a hand. "Please, call me Francis. Mr. Valois is my father. I'm not quite ready to be so formal, even with potential buyers."

Bash smiled. "Of course. Now… my wife and I were hoping to gain access to some… pharmaceuticals?"

A smirk crossed Francis' face. I saw his gaze wander in my direction. "Is that right?"

I decided to speak up since he seemed to be focused on me. The guy knew Bash was my 'husband' right? He was bold. "We heard that your father was the man to see but… we also heard he wasn't exactly… _available_ right now."

"No," Francis said, "unfortunately that's correct. He's not available right now, but I _am_." I had a feeling that was supposed to be some sort of double entendre but I ignored it. "What kind of… pharmaceuticals are you looking to invest in?"

"All of them," Bash answered without missing a beat. Francis seemed a bit taken aback. "We have quite a few folks interested. All in… _different_ kinds. You understand, of course."

Francis nodded. "I do. But I won't lie to you, it's not going to be cheap."

"Money isn't an issue," I told him. "We assure you, we can pay whatever price you want."

He seemed interested. "How about this… while I think of a number, you join me at my party. Both of you. Enjoy yourselves."

I looked at Bash. He nodded. "We'd love to," he said with a smile.

Francis smiled. "Fantastic. Please," he said, standing up, "come."

We both stood and walked out of the office with him. Bash grabbed my arm and pulled me close as we walked, whispering in my ear, "Open marriage."

My head snapped to look at him. "Excuse me?" I asked, my tone quiet yet shocked.

"I saw the way he was eyeing you. You have to get close to him. So Sebastian and Mary Whittaker have an open marriage."

I gave a him a look and he returned one. "Fine," I said and yanked my arm away from him as we made it to the stairs and went down. Francis was several steps in front of us, already half way down. I hurried to catch up with him. "Francis," I said as I got to his side and he turned to look at me but neither of us stopped walking. "Do you think your ladies would mind you dancing with a complete stranger?"

"Someone as beautiful as you? Probably," he answered. "But they don't call the shots." He smiled and held out his hand. I took it and let him lead me out back.

.

_-BASH-_

I hoped this worked. Open marriage sounded like the best possible cover to explain why a married woman would be getting so close to another man. Besides, I didn't think I could pull off the whole 'married' thing. I'd been under before, but never as a married man. I'd never even been in a… well, _serious_ relationship. My last girlfriend was in college, right before I went to the Academy, and our relationship had been a bit toxic. It ran on sex more than anything. When I'd finally opened my eyes, I'd dumped her and went off to Quantico. Since then, I'd had a few one night stands but nothing serious.

When I got back outside, I pulled out my phone and found a nice corner to make a phone call while keeping an eye on Mary who was now dancing with Francis. I pulled up Penelope's number and called her. She was with the rest of the team. Good. They all needed to hear this.

"_What's up, Bash?_" Leith asked from the other end of the line.

I looked around to make sure no one saw me, or could potentially be listening. I was far away enough from the general vicinity of people to be listening in. So I said, "We're in."

.

When I woke up in the morning I was back in my hotel room. Mary and I had left around two in the morning and returned to our hotel rooms. I was woken up by a loud knock on my door and went to answer it, not bothering to put a shirt on. It was Penelope. I let her in. "So… talk," she said, handing me a cup of coffee and went to sit on the unmade bed.

I gave her a weird look… naturally I was confused. "What?"

"Come on, Bash, you haven't talked about Jewels' death and it's been almost two and a half weeks." Jewels had been one of Penelope's best friends. They'd known each other since college. Of course she was hurting too. But whereas I'd taken two weeks off, Penelope kept working. I guess it said a lot about our personalities…or our abilities to grieve rather.

Scratching the back of my neck, I made a face but she gave me a look to tell me I wasn't getting out of this. And someone at the Bureau had to do a psych evaluation on me at some point. "If I do this, will you tell Westbrook I'm fine?" She nodded. So I sighed and walked over to sit beside her.

This was going to be a long morning.

...

A/N: As this chapter hinted at, there's going to be a _wee_ bit of Frary but I'm going to limit it since I can't stand them together lmao. But it's going to serve the story well. The Nelly song playing in this chapter is '_Hot in Herre_.' (Gotta go with the classics, ahahaa xD.) Review review review! Chapter 04 coming soon! -heart-


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 04.**– CAUGHT UP IN THE MIDDLE, I CRY JUST A LITTLE

_-BASH -_

"I just… don't know where to start."

Penelope swung her legs up on the bed and scooted back, lying down with her head on the pillow. "Well… start by talking about which stage of grief you think you're in."

I looked back at her. "The first four." She gave me a look that asked me to elaborate. I wasn't getting off the hook with these short, to the point answers. "Denial: I'm in denial because I can't believe she's really gone. She's been the one consistent thing in my career. Anger: I'm pissed off at the world. It's not just Valois, it's everybody. I'm even pissed off at myself for not being able to do anything to help her sooner. Bargaining: I would do _anything_ right now to get her back. I've spent the last two weeks begging God to give her back. Depression: I can't focus on the job. I don't _want_ to focus on the job. I don't want to do _anything_. I feel dead inside. I feel there's no point in doing this without her. She was my partner-in-crime."

Jewels had been my partner since I started in the OC division. In some ways, she was my mentor before she was my partner. She was the smartest, boldest person I'd ever known. I learned everything I knew from her. She'd been an FBI agent before she'd even stepped foot into the Academy. That probably came with the perks of having an agent for a father. Ever since she was young, she'd learned how to be an agent. That knowledge was passed on to me when we were partnered up.

A few tears came to my eyes. "I just… I want her back. She was the closest thing I had to a sister."

Penelope put down her coffee cup on the side table and sat up, coming behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I started to sob, feeling like such a baby, but I was too exhausted to care. "Shh. I know. I want her back too."

When I gathered enough strength to talk, I asked, "Then… then how can you not be _upset_?" I hadn't seen Penelope cry once or even act anything unlike her normal self. She seemed… fine.

She rested her cheek against the side of my head. "I've known loss before," she said. "I lost my parents. I lost my grandmother. I lost my cousin who was the closest thing _I_ had to a sister." She paused. "I miss Jewels every day. I keep waiting for her to send me some stupid text message or show me some meme she found online. But… I know those things won't happen because I've already accepted she's gone."

Acceptance. It was the fifth stage of grief. To finally come to terms with loss. I was far from that stage. I leaned into Penelope and said, "I can't accept that she's gone. I don't think I ever will."

"You will," she told me. "You just don't know it yet. When I lost my parents, it took me a _very_ long time to accept they were gone. With each loss, it got a little easier. Not knowing loss or what it feels like is the hardest part. You'll heal in time, but it may be weeks or months down the line. And no matter what, I'm here for you. So's Leith, and Julien, and Alec… and everyone that loved her at the Bureau. We all understand. You're not the only person who lost someone that day. I lost my best friend. You lost your sister and partner. The Bureau lost a fantastic agent. They may not have known her like you and I did, but they all feel the loss."

I had a hard time believing that right now, but I was so focused on my own pain that I couldn't imagine being in someone else's shoes. No one else was feeling the pain I was over Jewels' death. They would never understand. Penelope may have healed faster, but she'd known other losses and had learned how to cope faster. I had never experienced a loss before in my life. I had distant relatives die, but no one I was ever particularly close with.

It made it that much hard, like Penelope said.

"I don't know how I'm going to bring this bastard down without her," I whispered, feeling like if I spoke any louder I would choke on my words.

"You will," Penelope said, hugging my shoulders a little tighter. "And she's still here with you. I bet she's whispering in your ear and you don't even know it. She'll tell you how to bring him down. Just… think back to when you were an agent that first year. You hadn't known her then. What would _Special Agent_ Sebastian Poitiers do? Don't think about what _Supervisory _Special Agent Bash Poitiers would do."

She had a point. When I was a first year agent, I'd still gone by Sebastian and I was only a special agent. I basically answered to everyone else since I was at the bottom of the food chain. Now I was an SSA and well on my way to be a SAC. But… it had been so long since I'd been _Sebastian_. I didn't know how to be him anymore.

Penelope let go of me and said, "I have an idea. Put a shirt on. I'll be right back."

She hopped off the bed and ran for the door, gone in a split second. I got up and put a shirt on like she instructed, wondering what the hell she was doing. I had my answer five minutes later when she came back with her speakers, Leith, Julien, and Alec. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked as she plugged the speakers in and put her phone on the dock.

"Remember that night we spent at Ravers in Quantico? It was Jewels' birthday, two years ago, and despite how much you _hated_ this song, you went and requested it anyway because you knew she _loved_ it." She hit play and tried to stop myself from snorting and covered my face with my heads, looking down and shaking my head. I _did_ remember that night. Jewels had pulled me out on the dance floor, forcing me to dance with her, and the rest of the team had joined us.

Penelope grabbed my arms and forced me to bring my hands down. "You're killing me here, Penny," I said, not able to stop myself from smiling.

"Then I'm doing what Jewels would want me to do." She twirled me around and we all started dancing. We were doing this for Jewels. This was_ all_ for her.

.

_-MARY -_

I'd just finished blow drying my hair when I heard loud music coming from the room next door. That was Bash's room. I didn't know what he was doing blaring music so loud the entire hotel could hear, but it made me curious. As I left the room, I saw the rest of my team walking out of their own rooms, curious like I was. I went to the door and saw it was slightly cracked, so I opened it and poked my head in. The music was ten times louder now. It hurt my ears.

What I saw surprised me.

Bash and the entire OC team were dancing and I had no idea why. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Penelope looked over and saw me. "Mary! Come on, come join us!"

I looked back at my own team who all seemed very amused. Before I knew it, Penelope was by the door and pulling me inside. My BAU team followed me. Penelope held both of my hands and got me moving while the rest of my team started dancing with the others. Greer and Kenna loved this song. I'd heard it many times before while in their cars and they _always_ sang shamelessly at the top of their lungs. This was no exception. Having heard it so many times, I knew the words and could help but join in.

We were wasting valuable investigation time… but something about this made me not care.

A few minutes later when the song was over, Penelope shut the music off. "What was all that for?" I asked.

"It was for Bash," Penelope said. "To get him to smile. That song has a significance to Jewels."

I looked over at Bash who was actually smiling… and it was _genuine_. I'd never seen that smile on him before. He looked good wearing it. He seemed happy… not the like the uptight grump I'd first met. "Thank you, Penny," he said and went to hug her from the side, kissing her head. "I'm not sure if that worked entirely but it was a start." Penelope put a hand on his arm as if to hug him back.

"Okay, get dressed, Bash," Leith said. "You look like a damn bum."

"Kiss my ass," he said and let go of Penelope. "I'll meet you down at the station." We all started to leave, but Bash stopped me. "Mary. Wait a minute." I made sure the door was shut before I walked back over to the bed and sat down. "I know we didn't talk last night because we were tired, so now seems like the perfect opportunity."

I nodded. "Alright."

"What did Francis say?" Bash asked as he went to his suitcase and squatted down beside it.

"I didn't really get anything out of him as far as the business side goes, but he seems pretty interested in me. I mean… just my freaking luck." If I didn't sound annoyed, I was doing it wrong.

He was rummaging through his things at this point. "Good. Maybe you can get close enough to him that he'll agree to meet _our_ terms instead of his."

"What _are_ our terms exactly?" I asked. He was the mastermind behind this whole operation. I assumed he had _some_ sort of plan.

Bash pulled a shirt and a tie out of his bag and stood up, tossing them on the bed before squatting back down. "The way I see it, he'll get so close to you that he'll offer a smaller number than most buyers. Then we're going to double it and offer him something else in return."

That _really_ had me confused. "English please?"

He pulled out a pair of dress pants and stood up. "We're going to teach his men how to shoot."

"Excuse me?"

"Valois' men weren't well trained," he said. "SWAT took ten of them down while we lost no one but Jewels, but that was at Valois' own hand and he had a fair advantage. If we offer to train them to shoot at unfair advantages, we can gain his trust even further."

"I'm sorry, but how do you expect to do that exactly?"

Bash pulled his shirt over his head and I had to look away. I don't know why, but I swore I felt my cheeks heat up. "Have you ever heard of Cop Killers?"

That sounded familiar and it struck a bell. I looked back. Bash was buttoning up his shirt so I felt a little safer doing it. "5.7 30 grade bullets?" He nodded. "Those are illegal."

"_Yeah_," he said. "_Crazy_ illegal." Cop Killers could penetrate Kevlar and any other kind of bullet proof material law enforcement wore. Hence the name, "Cop Killers." "And it just so happens that I know a guy at I.C.E. who just found himself in possession of some coming in off the coast in Malibu."

I wondered how the hell he knew that but I wasn't going to question him. That was rule number…. I didn't remember, fifty seven, or something? There were too many. But the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency found themselves in possession of a lot of things like that. Unfortunately most of them were destroyed by the U.S. Marshalls once inventoried, cataloged and depending on how many of there were the agent could be knee deep in ink for a long time. "How many does he have?" I asked.

"About a thousand rounds," Bash answered, now taking off his pants, but this time I didn't look away. I just stared in shock. That was a _lot_ of bullets. "Yeah, I know, I was a bit shocked too."

"How did you find out about this?" I asked.

"Alec knows a few people at some of the other agencies. He _might_ have mentioned it to me." I was going to leave it at that and not ask any more questions. Bash put his dress pants on and continued, "So we present them to Francis to get him interested and perhaps we have a bigger in."

"How do you know Valois doesn't have Cop Killers already?"

"Because if he did, I'd be dead."

That… _probably_ had some truth to it. Bash took his tie and went to the mirror to put it on. He seemed to have a bit of trouble so I laughed and got up. "Here," I said. He turned and I took the tie. "My mother taught me how to do this once. I never knew why but she said it might come in handy one day."

"And?" he asked, fishing for me to elaborate on whether it was or not.

"She was right," I said, finishing up the tie and looked into his eyes with a small grin. I could swear I saw his lips mirror mine. "So did you decide to stop being a grump this morning?"

"Maybe," he smirked. "You can thank Penelope for it."

"Oh, I will."

...

A/N: Song included in this chapter is '_I Cry_' by Flo-Rida. (I can't help it, it's a guilty pleasure. And if it has Todd in the Shadows' approval, it has mine too. xD) I also want to thank the reader who sent me a message with a song suggestion. If any of y'all have them, feel free to send them my way! Chapter 05 coming soon! Review, por favor! -heart-


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 05.**– HEY JEALOUSY

_-BASH -_

Mary and I went to the Valois' beach house around two o'clock that afternoon after being invited by Francis. We'd also contacted my friend in Customs and he was sending the Cop Killers on a plane within the hour from Los Angeles to Miami. Alec would pick the shipment up tonight when they arrived. It was roughly five hours from Los Angeles to Miami via plane. It was also a three hour time difference. We would have them by late tonight.

Before we could even get out of the car all the way, he was coming out the front door. "Sebastian, Mary!" he greeted from far away, coming towards us. He shook both of our hands and then kissed Mary's. "Come, we have quite the journey."

"I'm sorry, where are we going?" I asked, taken a little off guard. Really, I wasn't. I knew where he was taking us. Mary did too.

Guiding us to the limo that pulled up at the end of the driveway, Francis said, "Well my father always told me buyers should inspect the merchandise first." The driver of the limo got out and opened the door. "So I thought I'd take you both down to the warehouse." Francis held out his hand, offering to help Mary into the limo. She took it and got in. Then he gestured for me to get inside. I did.

Once we were all inside, Francis' driver closed the door and went around to the front. Then we were off. Mary and I sat so close to one another, she was almost sitting on my lap. I wondered if she realized she'd snaked her hand to my inner thigh… I don't know what happened but a shudder went through my body at that moment.

"So," Francis said, "Sebastian… Mary. How did you two meet?" He seemed genuinely curious.

We'd have to come up with something on the spot. It wasn't something we'd talked about, nor was it in our UC files. I looked at Mary, exchanged a glance with her, and then Mary quickly looked at Francis. "Well our families come from money. The Upper East Side is pretty exclusive. We grew up together. I think we met when we were babies."

I smiled, going along with it. "Yeah I was a toddler when she was born so it's not really something I remember." Mary laughed.

"Was it an arranged marriage?" Francis asked.

"Oh no," Mary answered, not missing a beat. "Well, not entirely. I think our parents always hoped we'd marry but love just blossomed naturally when we were teenagers. We've been together for over ten years, but our wedding didn't happen until last year when we _finally_ had a little time to spare."

"Sounds lovely," Francis said. "What does your family deal in?"

I answered that. "Anything and everything. We practically own Wall Street. We know when to get in and out of things."

"So what happens if the stock market crashes again? Won't you guys be in trouble?"

Shaking my head, I said, "No, we've been prepared for every possible situation for generations. We have plenty to get by if there's ever another Depression."

"Sounds like we're in the same boat then," Francis said. He seemed very impressed with us. That was good. We were doing everything right so far… unless he was a better actor than both of us. And we certainly couldn't dismiss that notion just yet.

Our trip lasted about an hour but soon we were outside of Miami, still on the water, but at a warehouse that reminded me of the one in Quantico where Jewels was shot. It took everything in me to keep it together. I had to be strong and not let those memories take over.

Francis led us inside. It was like a factory. People were working everywhere. It was much larger than the one in Quantico and the amount of illegal substances I saw on first glance was _staggering_. I exchanged a glance with Mary, who also looked surprised, but we had to be careful about our facial expressions. If we made one wrong move, this whole operation was done.

"Come," Francis said, waving us down the stairs to the main floor of the warehouse. We went down and followed him and he led us between some very expensive foreign sports cars that I assumed had been smuggled over here somehow. Once we were out of the endless sea of cars, we were at a counter that resembled something out of a bar. Francis invited us to sit down, so we did. There was a man behind the counter. "Skylar, a sample of each for our potential buyers." He nodded and walked away. Francis looked at us. "I'm going to start you off with small samples of each. We'll go three grand each." That meant they were really worth about six grand, give or take.

Mary, who was sitting between us, put a hand on Francis' thigh, much like she had mine in the limo. "Please, Francis, you don't have to sugar coat it for us. We're very capable of paying full price for the merchandise. And… I think we can offer a little extra."

I watched as Francis looked down at Mary's hand on his thigh. I could swear he had a boner and I was trying so hard not to roll my eyes. He gave a small, awkward laugh, and said, "How much extra?" He looked up.

She didn't hesitate to answer. "Twelve."

His eyes widened. "T-_twelve_ grand?"

"Plus, we have some merchandise you might find of interest?"

Francis looked at me. My face said nothing other than to '_listen to my wife, she knows what she's doing_.' Mary really _did_ know what she was doing. All she needed was a little instruction before the action and the woman was on _fire_. It reminded me of… well… _Jewels_.

So Francis said, "I'm listening."

"I can see you have a great deal of inventory here, but I can guarantee there's one thing you _don't_ have," she said.

"And what would that be? Because I _guarantee_ you that I _do_ have it."

Again, not missing a beat, Mary said, "5.7 30 grade hardcore bullets."

That changed Francis' whole demeanor. He was in shock. It took him a moment, but he finally asked, "C-_Cop Killers_? You have _Cop Killers_?" She nodded. Then his face brightened and he laughed out of nothing but pure happiness. "My father is going to have a _party_ in his prison cell when he hears about this. How did you manage to get your hands on those?"

"We know a few people," Mary said. "And it just so happens they're being shipped our way right now. We can have them to you first thing in the morning."

That's when I jumped in. "For one additional condition."

Francis, curiously, looked at me. "Which is?"

"We teach your men how to shoot," I answered.

"Excuse me?" Francis asked. "My men can shoot just _fine_."

"According to several media reports about your father's arrest, about a dozen of your father's men were taken down by SWAT while only one federal agent was killed and that was at the hand of your father who wasn't but a foot from her." I shrugged. "Seems to me like the Valois army could use a little training."

Francis, standing up, came closer to me. "And how do you know how to shoot? I didn't think that was something Upper East Siders learned how to do."

Luckily, I'd prepared for this. "You'd be surprised what some of us Upper East Siders are into during our free time. Gun ranges happen to be a thing in New York." I didn't miss a beat, nor did I falter in any of my words or my tone. Mary was looking back at me, smirking to herself where Francis couldn't see, and I knew I'd done well. I always did. That was part of my charm.

"Of course," Francis said, still very surprised by my words, and also a bit suspicious. "Well why don't you both come by in the morning and… show us how good you happen to _be_ at shooting." He obviously didn't think anyone could be better than his men, or his father's. Boy was he going to get a wakeup call.

Mary looked back at me and smiled. Then she looked at Francis. "We'd love to."

.

When Mary and I returned with Francis to his beach house, a party was already in progress. This was going to be a nightly thing, I could only assume, for us since we were now under with this scumbag. I went right to the bar and ordered a drink. I shouldn't be drinking on the job but I was undercover… if I wasn't drinking at a party, I might look suspicious. So I took the glass of scotch that was poured for me and took it all down in the first attempt. "Keep them coming," I told the bartender and my eyes searched for Mary. She was dancing with Francis again. I had no idea what was going on inside of me, but… suddenly I felt angry.

But…_why_?

After about four drinks (scotch glasses normally aren't filled up very far, so it probably equaled one full glass), Mary came over to me and grabbed my hands. "Come on. Come dance with me. Let's show Francis what we can do."

Suddenly I was being pulled out to the dance floor. I was able to get close enough to whisper, "But I _can't dance_."

"Bullshit," she said. "I just sent Penelope a message asking if you could."

Fuck. It was true. I _could_ dance, but I wasn't very _good_. But I had no other choice here. I had to pretend to be Sebastian Whittaker right now, not Bash Poitiers. And Sebastian Whittaker was from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where the elite of the elite lived and balls and galas were a thing. Mary led me to the center of the dance floor that was now being cleared for us. She left me there and went to the DJ to request a song before turning around as it started. I knew this song. It was one of my favorites. '_Hey Jealousy_' by Gin Blossoms. How Mary knew that I had no idea…until I remember she'd just talked to Penelope.

This wasn't your typical dance song, but not impossible to move to. So when Mary came back to me, we started dancing like pros. I don't know what came over me but suddenly I was letting my body move to the beat, leading Mary around the dance floor, twirling her around and even lifting her above me head a couple of times. The on-lookers seemed impressed, Francis especially.

When we finished, I'd spun Mary into my arms and stopped. We both caught our breath and looked into each other's eyes as the on-lookers applauded loudly. It was as if I was seeing Mary for the first time… how beautiful she was, and just how full of energy. I… I couldn't describe it. And I really couldn't control myself, so…I went in to kiss her, and I could swear she was leaning towards me…

But suddenly Francis' hands were on our shoulders. "Wow, what a show!" he said as we broke apart.

I smiled, trying not to look annoyed, but in a sense I was sort of relieved. Mary said, "Well I'm glad you all enjoyed it," as she smiled brightly.

"You'll have to teach me how to dance like that sometime," he said.

"I'd be honored."

And as much as I hated to admit it… I didn't like hearing those words.

.

I returned to my hotel room around midnight, having left Mary at the party with Francis. She could take care of herself. And besides, we had to follow through with this 'open marriage' thing so she could get close to Francis and get whatever information she could. I didn't understand why that bugged me so much. I barely _knew_ this woman. What was so different from her opposed to the other female agents I worked with?

I decided I didn't want an answer, and instead I called Penelope to come to my room. She was there within two minutes and I pulled her inside quick. "I need you," I said, slightly drunk. I'd had… a _few_ more drinks while I was there. My sober state of mind was half gone. I pulled her close and went to kiss her, but she stopped me.

"Bash, you don't need me," she said, pushing me away. "You're drunk and, as I recall, in four of the five stages of grief. But even if you were sober, I wouldn't sleep with you because that's just a big 'fuck you' to professionalism."

Not being in my right state of mind prevented me from thinking straight. This was why I shouldn't be drinking on the job. Being under cover meant I was _always_ on the job, even when I wasn't exactly pretending to be the person the Bureau decided I would be. "Please, Penny, just this once I swear," I begged, trying to pull her back.

She stopped me again. "No because once will turn into twice, and only when you're under the influence."

"I swear, just this once," I said, feeling more desperate than ever. Part of me might have been wanting this because of Mary but… hell, I didn't really know. Not even in the slightest. It was kind of annoying and… I figured the best way to push that away was to have a one night stand. My genius brain didn't realize, while under the influence, I was asking someone who was one of my best friends and co-workers that I wouldn't just see tonight and then never call again tomorrow.

"For God's sake, Bash, snap out of it. I will drown you in the tub if I have to," she said, grasping my wrists tight. She pulled me towards the bed and pulled the covers out, forcing me down. "Now go to sleep, and when you wake up with a massive hangover I'll be here with coffee and aspirin." I tried to pull her down on top of me, but she smacked me hard in the face. "Stop it!" she said. "Call me when you're sober, and then we'll talk about what's _really_ going on with you." She turned around and walked out of the room, shutting my light off in the process.

I was in total darkness.

...

A/N: Chapter 6 coming soon! Review, my dears, pretty pretty please! -heart-


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 06.**– AND THE EYES EASE OPEN AND IT'S DARK AGAIN

_-MARY -_

As soon as Bash left, I called Lola to come make a delivery to me. I'd have to make my move on Francis tonight by getting him alone, but it couldn't really… well, get _down_ with him. There was only one way to do that. So I waited in the bathroom until I heard our special knock. She'd come within the hour, which was good because Francis had always checked on me once. He would start to get suspicious. I opened the door to let Lola in. I had a drink in the bathroom with me that I intended to give to Francis. But instead of just whiskey, it was going to have a little something extra.

Lola locked the door and I took off my heel. "Thank God," she said and took the small plastic box she handed me.

"Yeah and thank God for me too, I've had to pee for like two hours," she said, squeezing behind me to get to the toilet. While she went to do her business, I stood at the sink next to her and popped out two of the tiny pills nestled inside the box. "Where's Bash?" she asked.

"He left around the time I called you," I answered as I started crushing the pills with the heel of my shoe. "We gotta keep this 'open marriage' thing going."

"Does Francis actually _know_ you're in an open marriage?" Lola asked.

"We haven't come out right and said it, but I've seen Francis look at Bash every time I make some sort of yellow flag move and Bash's been doing a pretty good job of playing it cool." I struggled to get the pills broken, but it was all about strength so I pushed down even further. "So I'm gonna make a red flag move tonight without going all the way, if you know what I mean."

Lola, now finished, stood up and said, "Yeah I think the birth control was a tip off." I moved over so she could wash her hands after she flushed. "We've never actually tried this before, are you sure it'll work?"

"Well we better pray it does or I might need a Plan B pill tomorrow," I answered.

"If you don't come back tonight then I'll know it didn't work," she said, wiping her hands off on the towel. "When do these things usually wind down?"

"They don't," I answered. "Some people leave, and other pass out drunk and half naked around the house."

"And Francis?"

"He usually retires around two in the morning, give or take, and normally with Olivia and Natalia."

Lola laughed. "How do you plan to get him _alone_ then? You don't want to give him the impression you're interest in becoming part of an orgy."

"Don't worry," I told her. I was finished crushing up the pills so I picked up the drink and positioned it just right before scraping the powder into the glass with my hand. "I have a plan for that."

.

As soon as Lola left, I left my post in the bathroom and snuck off to Francis' room. I figured I didn't have much time, so I scouted the room out for evidence. Anything I saw could later be used, but only after we made the bust. That could take weeks. Bash and I didn't have that kind of time, but every second counted. Francis kept absolutely _nothing_ around the room that was in direct relation to his family business. I needed to check the office which was more than likely where he kept everything, but I'd taken a chance by checking the bedroom.

Unfortunately I didn't get to the office. I didn't even make it out of the room.

"Mary?"

I turned around as soon as I heard Francis' voice. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to play if off like I was a bit tipsy. "I thought I was headed back outside."

He laughed. "No, not quite. Outside is the other way."

"Oh, well, silly me," I said and walked towards him. "Oh and here," she said. "I can't drink any more of this and I don't want it to go to waste."

He smiled. "Neither would I," he said. "I buy this stuff in bulk and it's not cheap." I watched as he gulped down the contents of the glass. Thank God. Now he had birth control in him. His little soldiers would be put at ease. Hopefully. Francis put the glass down and then asked, "Mary, would you like to stay here and talk?"

"A-are you sure you don't want to go back to the party?" I said, hoping I sounded convincing.

"Please, I have plenty more parties ahead of me," he answered and took my hand to lead me back to the bed. "What I _really_ want is to get to know you a bit better." He sat down and pulled me with him. I purposefully sat in his lap. "Tell me… you and Sebastian. Your marriage seems to be a bit… unusual."

Finally. Now I could tell him straight up about the 'open marriage' thing without just casually mentioning it. If Francis was asking, he'd be walking into it himself. "Well… no one really knows but… we have a kind of… _untraditional _marriage."

"How so?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wanted to throw up.

"Sometimes we… well… sleep with other people," I said.

He raised his eyebrows. "Really? _Both_ of you do this?"

I nodded several times while replying, "Oh yeah. All the time. Our only rule is we're upfront about it with the other person. Sebastian knows all about my bedroom escapades and I know all about his."

This seemed to be going the way I needed it to. Because as soon as I said that, Francis asked, "So… say that… you and _I_ were to… go on a little escapade? You'd tell Sebastian about it?" He looked directly into my eyes. I could tell he was trying to ask me if I could keep it a secret and betray my 'husband.'

"Well I suppose that maybe… _one_ time without him knowing wouldn't hurt," I said. Francis leaned in to kiss me, but I stopped him. "Just one thing," I interrupted by putting a finger to his lips. "You and I do a little extra business of our own. Sebastian doesn't know about this transaction."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked as soon as I brought my finger down.

"I have a few… friends who are looking to do get into a… _particular_ kind of business," I said. "It's not something I really have connections in and I was hoping that _you_ did."

He smirked. "I think I can help your friends out. Do you think they could swing by tomorrow after our… _lesson_?"

He was right where I wanted him. Yes. Criminals were so stupid sometimes. "I think I can manage to make that happen."

Francis seemed pleased. This time when he leaned in to kiss me, I had to reciprocate. And despite how turned off I was, I had to pretend that I was one hundred percent into this. This was just an unfortunate part of being undercover.

After a couple of minutes, I ended up under Francis but he seemed to be having his own problems. I wanted so badly to smirk, knowing that the birth control pills had worked, but I couldn't. Not yet anyway. "Is something wrong?" I asked, playing dumb.

"I just... I'm having a bit of… _trouble_," he said, seeming to be confused as to what the hell was going on with what, I assumed, was the most valuable part of his anatomy. "I'm sorry, this has never happened to me before," he apologized, also panicking a bit.

"Francis," I said, looking at him and putting my hand on his cheek to force him to look at me. "It's alright. You're nervous. You've probably never done it with a married woman before."

He chuckled, awkwardly. "You've got me there."

"Tell you what," I said, forcing us both to an upright position. "I'll bring my friends by tomorrow. You can get your practice on them. They're not married but… we're _very_ familiar with one another." I smirked. That was a lie. But I had to be convincing. Constant reminders were part of the job.

Francis grinned and said, "I think that would be a very good idea."

.

_-BASH -_

I work up to the worst possible sound to wake up to.

It didn't help that I had a hangover, but even if I'd been sober, I would have been just as annoyed. I groaned, trying to drown out the music with my pillows, but eventually I sat up—a little too fast, I might add—and saw Penelope there holding two cups of coffee and dancing like an idiot (on purpose) to that annoying, ancient song _Soulja Boy_. "Turn that _oooooooooff!_" I begged.

"This is your punishment," she said, smiling uncontrollably. "If you want me to shut it off you have to admit that getting drunk on the job was really stupid."

"There are other ways of getting me to admit that!" I shouted.

"Come on, Bash, you know you want to be put out of your misery."

"_Pleeeeeease_, shut it off! I admit it, I was dumb to do it!" Penelope stopped and put one of the coffee cups down, shutting off the song. I fell back down against the pillow and seconds later she was sitting down next to me, holding out a cup of coffee above me. I took it and set it on my chest with both hands holding on tight. "Did you bring aspirin?"

Penelope nodded over to the night stand where a bottle was sitting. Thank God. I sat up a little and opened it up, popping a couple in my mouth and washing them down with the coffee. "So how much do you remember?" she asked.

I looked over at her. "You mean the part where I tried to fuck you? Yeah, I remember all of it."

"And do you have anything you'd like to say?" she asked.

"I'm… sorry."

"Wait—why did you _hesitate_?" she asked.

I sighed. I guess it was time for another therapy session. I looked straight ahead at the wall and said, "Because last night… actually all of _yesterday_ and being with Mary… I don't know what happened. But we had a moment near the end and… we almost kissed."

Penelope asked, "So you were horny because of her and needed someone to stick your dick in?"

"Well it sounds horrible when you put it like that," I said, looking at her slightly and taking a long drink from the cup.

"That's because it _is,_ you dumb ass," she said. "You know how I feel about co-workers getting involved with one another."

"Yeah that was a bad move on my part," I said, slouching down further.

"Ya think?"

We sat in silence for a few moments. I wasn't sure what to say next. I knew I'd been an idiot. This was why agents weren't supposed to drink on the job. I knew I had a cover to keep up, but I should have known my limits. And what if it hadn't been Penelope that I called last night? What if I'd brought some random woman back to the hotel? I'd be in a completely different situation right now. Part of me was glad Penelope said no… but I was still thinking about Mary. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost eight-thirty."

I sighed. I threw the covers off of me and slowly got up. "Well I have to shower and get ready. I'm meeting Mary downstairs soon and we're going to teach the Valois men how to shoot. Do you have a SWAT team on standby?"

Penelope nodded and said, "Yup, all ready to go."

"Great. I'll see you later?" She nodded and got up, walking around the bed and hugged me. I hugged her back out of instinct.

"I love you, Bash," she said. "Stop doing stupid stuff, okay?"

I nodded, letting go of her. "Okay."

.

Mary was waiting for me in the lobby around nine fifteen when I stepped out of the elevator. She had two cups of coffee in her hands and held one out to me. I finished off the one in my hands and tossed it in the waste bin in my path before taking it. "Thank God, I need more of this." I squinted my eyes, stopping my walk for a moment and put my fingers up to my temple.

She laughed. "Hung over?"

"You have no idea," I answered. When I was finally able to focus, I shook my head and asked, "How did things go last night?"

"Well I have to tell you that Lola and I came up with a little somethin' somethin' extra," she said as we began walking towards the exit.

"And that would be?"

"She and Kenna are going to pose as 'dancers' looking for some 'new positions,'" she told me. I cracked up laughing, but it hurt my head so I had to stop. "We also did a 'birth control in the drink' play and it worked like a charm."

Suddenly I was jealous, but I knew I couldn't show it. "Good," was all I could manage to say, swallowing after my few moments of awkward silence. "Did Alec take care of the Cop Killers?"

"They're in the back of the car right now," she answered. "Delivered right to us at seven o'clock sharp this morning. Alec took care of everything."

"Good," I said as we walked outside. Our car was waiting for us, the keys with the valet. I took them and went around to my side. "Let's get going."

...

A/N: Chapter 07 coming soon! Review, my loves! I wanna hear your thoughts! -heart-


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 07.**– THREW THE FALSE PROPHET DOWN THE WISHING WELL

_-BASH -_

Mary and I arrived at the warehouse a little over an hour later. Francis and his men were waiting out back in a spot that was clearly made for target practice but concealed so no one could spy in. We had a SWAT unit less than a half mile away. Penelope was running point from the field office. Julien and Alec were with the SWAT unit. Leith was working with Mary's BAU team trying to get Lola and Kenna's UC identities set up for tonight. I was actually looking forward to seeing what they came up with.

Together, Mary and I lugged the crate of Cop Killers over to the center where Francis was standing. His men stood, surrounding us. We put it down on the ground and opened it up. I pulled one out and held it up so Francis could see. "There we are. Just one of thousands of 5.7 30 grade bullets."

"And the money?" Francis asked.

There was also the money. Mary reached inside of her jacket and pulled out an envelope that was stuffed so thick it would probably bust open with one wrong move. Francis took it from her and looked inside. He nodded in satisfaction. "Well," he said, "it seems we have begun to do some business together. I'm liking this arrangement… so far."

I smirked. "Oh you'll like it even more by the end of the day when your men can actually aim at their target."

Francis stepped closer to me. "Then let's see what a rich boy from Manhattan can do, shall we?"

I stood my ground, staring down Francis for a few moments. Then I looked at Mary. As we had walked into the area, we noticed that they had several targets set up… notably, large teddy bears wearing police gear. We had already done a thorough sweep with our eyes and we knew where the targets were. All we had to do was shoot.

So, using the guns we'd already loaded, Mary and I turned quickly, aiming at two of the two dozen bears set up and fired two shots each. Both of the bears went down, their fillings popping out on impact. One that Mary hit actually had its arm ripped off. We continued to shoot, standing our ground and moving around the general area, until every single bear was destroyed. It took us less than sixty seconds to get all of them.

We looked back, breathing somewhat harder than normal, but neither of us had cracked a sweat. Francis and his men were frozen in stunned silence. Mary and I exchanged a glance. We both smirked. Looking back at Francis, I asked, "How's that a 'rich boy from Manhattan' for you?"

.

We stayed for the rest of the day until sunset, working with Francis' men and at least getting them started with shooting properly. We also taught them about their weapons, dismantling and reassembling and cleaning, so in case they ever ran into a jam where the gun malfunctioned then they weren't totally fucked. Mary and I worked well together as a team. And by the end of the day we were both exhausted. But even so, I wasn't ready to go back to the hotel. So I went to the gym at the field office again, put in my headphones, and started running around the track.

When I finished my run about forty minutes later, I saw Mary walking into the gym dressed in her work out gear and her gym bag hanging on her shoulder. I slowed and came to a stop as I approached her. "Hey," I said, nearly out of breath.

She smiled. "Hey. I wanted to say you did a great job today."

"Thank you. And so did you, of course."

"Thanks." She readjusted the strap on her shoulder. "Are you going to be around for awhile?"

"Maybe," I said. "I really should eat something. I haven't eaten anything all day."

A small laugh escaped her. "Yeah and considering the fact that you're running, I don't think that's smart."

"Probably not," I agreed.

"Well I'll see you in the morning," she said.

I smiled. "Okay. See ya." I watched her walk into the room she'd been in a few days before. I stood there for a few moments and watched but I didn't see the door shut. So when I heard some music come from there, I slowly walked over and peered inside.

Mary was dancing. I didn't recognize the song but it was pretty insane and she kept perfect time with it. I should have expected as much when she did such an amazing job at the party last night. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn't look away… especially once she took to one of the two poles that was in the room. My heart raced faster. _Shit_. This didn't help me. Not one _bit_.

She ended the dance by doing the splits on the floor and I was trying my hardest to not have a situation right then and there, so it took every bit of will power to pull myself away and run into the locker room and turn on the shower so cold that it sent a different kind of shock through my body. "Oh God!" I screamed, feeling the ice cold liquid hit my skin. I groaned and pounded my fist against the wall. Great. Just fucking great.

.

_-MARY -_

I knew Bash was watching me. A small part of me didn't care. But then there was the other part that had to wonder… _why_?

I wasn't going to torture myself with the question as I finished up my workout and met up with Lola and Kenna who were both ready to go to the party. I couldn't help myself. They looked fabulous but they also looked like stone cold prostitutes. "They really did a number on you guys, didn't they?" I asked, trying to hold in my laughter but to no avail. Greer and Aylee had done all of the dressing for them.

"Well laugh all you want, but I think we look fabulous," Kenna shot back.

"And fierce," Lola added.

Shaking my head, and still laughing, I said, "Sure. Come on, let's go." I led them out to the car and got in. The drive to the beach house was all too familiar now. We'd been there so many times it was beginning to feel like we were in a rut. This constant back and forth was kind of ridiculous. But we had a job to do. We had to nail Francis fair and square. True, maybe we had the evidence we really needed, but there was a deeper issue here. We needed to get him for _everything_. There was simply too much to get to in this amount of time.

When we arrived, I led Lola and Kenna out back. Francis was in the hot tub with several people, two of them being Olivia and Natalia of course. They were automatically studying Lola and Kenna, probably thinking they had no chance of competing with _them_. They already had it in with Francis. Who was I to bring in two new girls? "Mary!" Francis said, delighted to see me. "Are these your friends?"

I nodded. "Francis Valois, may I introduce you to Lola Lopez and Kenna Giovani."

Francis held out his hand for them. "Ladies… I'm so pleased you could come tonight." I almost threw up in my mouth, hearing his tone and the implied double entendre that came with that. Lola and Kenna both took his hand, one at a time, and he kissed them at the knuckles. "Mary tells me you're both very talented. I'd like to see that for myself." He gestured to the dance floor where two polls were rising up out of the ground.

Of _course_ he had something like that in his backyard. Didn't _everyone_?

"We'd be honored, Mr. Valois," Lola said and both girls handed me their purses. They were just going to dance. Francis and I already had an agreement they wouldn't do anything too revealing in public. And both Lola and Kenna had prepared for the behind closed doors. We were working on getting the birth control his in drink in more dire situations in case no one could bring him one we'd taken into the bathroom.

The DJ started playing an old Aerosmith song, which I was pleased to hear. Lola and Kenna did their thing. They'd been practicing all day since neither of them had ever been on a stripper pole before in their lives. Me on the other hand? Well… I'd just say it was something I didn't really talk about anymore.

As soon as they were done, the entire crowd of on lookers applauded. Francis hopped out of the hot tub and dried off before he came over to the girls. "Brilliant," he said, kissing both of their cheeks. "Mary didn't lie. You two were fantastic. I think I know just the spot for you ladies around here."

Good. Lola and Kenna were in.

.

_-BASH -_

I returned to the hotel, still damp from my little trip to the show at the field house. As I was making my way to my room, I found Penelope leaving her own and the second she saw me she lost it. She was laughing so hard, tears were actually coming out of her eyes. "Okay, please explain this one to me," she said, walking over.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, putting my key in the hole and unlocking the door. "I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep."

Penelope leaned against the wall next to the door. She'd just taken a shower, indicated by her wet hair and the fact that she was covered by a robe but her pajamas were on, which I knew because I saw the Superman logo plastered along her pants. I always made fun of her for those PJs. "You guys did good today," she told me. "I just got word from Mary that they're headed to the beach house right now. Leith said he would check in as soon as he got the call about Lola and Kenna."

"I hope this plan of hers works," I said, holding the door open but I didn't go inside. "I don't really understand it but… if we can nail him in every possible way, we'll be the most famous agents out there."

"I already started planning for retirement," Penelope half-joked. "Wanna go to Jamaica with me?"

"If you're paying my way, hell yeah," I said, absolutely serious. I smiled and she laughed. "Just send me a text as soon as you get an update. And I still expect my coffee in the morning."

"Will do, Boss," she said and saluted me, walking away in the direction she was originally headed. I went into my room to get some sleep. I was so tired, I collapsed right in my damp clothes, not even caring.

.

I woke in the morning to the sound of various things happening in my room. I assumed it was Penelope cleaning up, but when I was coherent enough to actually realize what it was, I saw _Mary_ was the one in my room. "Mary?" I asked, still sleepy as hell, and rubbing one of my eyes as I sat up. "What are you doing in here?"

She brought me a cup of coffee. "Penelope and Leith left early for the field office. Lola and Kenna made an arrest last night."

I nearly dropped my coffee when she said that. "Wha—_who_?!"

"One of Francis' buyers," she answered. "Francis sent them in with the guy for a 'private show' and they busted him with so much heroin it's not even funny."

"From the Valois stash?"

"You bet," she said, going back to tidying up. "The guy's staying quiet about Lola and Kenna being feds but he's already alerted Francis to it while he was behind bars. Apparently instead of calling a lawyer, he used his one phone call to call the man he bought from."

I fell back against the pillow, groaning. "So now Francis knows that _we're_ onto _him_ too."

"Well apparently Francis expected it since we'd already nailed his father and old Daddy Dearest is behind bars with no bail," she told me. "We're going to have to keep our creds off our persons for the time being. Keep them with Julien and Alec in SWAT in case Francis gets suspicious."

"Where are Lola and Kenna?" I asked.

"Asleep in their rooms," she answered. "They just got in an hour ago. It was a hella long night."

"Wake them up at Noon," I said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

Just then, both of our phones rang. New text message for each of us from Francis. He wanted us there, right now. "Oh goodie," Mary said sarcastically. "The scumbag wants to see us."

I threw my covers off and got up. "Throw me some clothes, I need to shower."

"Who am I, your wife?" she asked. I gave her a look but she cracked a smile. I couldn't help but do the same.

I had to get my own clothes, though. Despite that smile, she wouldn't do it.

...

A/N: I was on a bit of a roll last night and actually had this chapter done before I went to bed. Haha. Mary dances to the song _$$$EX_ by Vanessa Hudgens & Y. LA; Lola and Kenna dance to _Love in an Elevator_ by Aerosmith. Let me know what you think! Chapter 08 coming soon! -heart-


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 08.**– RIGHT ON THE MONEY

_-BASH -_

We spent the next two days training Francis' men and making an appearance at his parties at night. Lola and Kenna made two more arrests and brought Aylee and Greer into the operation secretly. Francis was worried that the arrests would lead to his and he was right to. I finally saw what this part of the plan was. We limit his buyers and strip him of power. So far we had four. But the problem was… we didn't know how many there were. This was working as a scare tactic, sure. Francis began to complain by the end of the second day that his buyers were backing out. We were all pleased with this information.

The good news was Francis seemed pleased that we were sticking around. Mary and I told him that the feds didn't scare us. The hilarity was that Francis didn't realize we _were_ feds. And he wouldn't know until the time was right. We needed to bring him down at the right moment, and unfortunately that wasn't now.

I found myself at the gym in the early morning of the third morning after the first arrests. I was in the zone at the punching bag when I saw Mary come in. She came over and said, "Hey."

"Hi," I said. "Getting a work out in before we head off?"

"Yeah I figured I need to start getting my butt out of bed in the mornings if I'm going to get them done." She laughed. "Do you mind if I take over?" She indicated the punching bag. I stepped out of the way. She wrapped her hands up and cracked her knuckles before she started swinging punches.

I stepped back and leaned against the wall. "No dancing today?" She stopped and looked back. "Yeah, I admit, I watched you last time."

Mary looked back and started punching. "I knew you were there. I'm used to having an audience."

That surprised me. "Really?" I asked, now curious.

"Yup," she said. She punched a few more times, putting all of her strength into it, before she went on. "I was a dancer. It was how I paid my way through school."

A dancer? That could mean anything. "'Dancer?'"

"Not a stripper," she told me. "I refused to take my clothes off for complete strangers. So I luckily found a job at a nightclub where I was paid to dance exotically and I was able to stay clothed but… just _barely_."

Now I had an imagine in my head that I wished I didn't because it was doing… _things_ to me. "Did you have to do it for long?"

After a couple of punches, she answered me. "A few years. I started when I was a sophomore. I paid back all of my student loans by the end of my senior year and had saved up enough for grad school. I was fortunate enough to be able to stop. I can't say the same for some of the other girls I worked with."

I felt bad now. She had to do something so degrading to get where she was. Granted, it could have been a lot worse, but it was still horrible. "I'm sorry," I said. "I busted my ass in a kitchen scrubbing dishes all through college. Not as glamorous as your job I'm sure."

Mary stopped and looked back. "I'd rather have done that job than what I ended up doing." She wrapped one arm around the punching bag and hugged it to her side. "I don't regret it now because it got me where I wanted to be… but I wish I had something else to help me get by."

I felt like there was more to this. Something deeper. "Do… you want to talk?"

She grinned. "I thought that's what we were doing?" I laughed. We went over to sit on a couple of the rowing machines. Mary sighed and went on speaking. "Well… my father died when I was a baby. I never got to actually know him. And my mother struggled to get by. She busted her ass to help me get into college in the first place, and then I was on my own. I tried so hard to get a job but no one would hire me. So… I decided to put my dancing abilities to use. I'd been taking dance lessons since I was three. I never thought I'd have to use what I'd learned in a job."

It seemed like we had a lot in common. I looked down at my hands, fiddling my fingers. "I never knew my father either. I was the result of a one night stand my mother had with some rich guy. She was nothing. He wouldn't do anything to help her with me. He gave her a few thousand dollars to… 'take care of me.' Fortunately she found love with another and we got by alright. But I still had to work for what I have. It's made me appreciate so much more in life."

When I looked up, Mary was looking at me with the same amount of sympathy I'd given her. "I'm sorry. That's gotta suck."

Shrugging, I said, "It never really bothered me. I didn't grow up in a ritzy area. I grew up in one of the worst parts of Detroit. I was one of the few white kids in the school. I didn't have many friends. When I think back on it, that was probably a good thing. It doesn't bug me as much as it did back then."

We were interrupted before I could say any more. It was Alec coming into the room. "Westbrook is on the phone for you."

Fan-fucking-tastic.

.

_-MARY -_

As Bash went to tend to his call, I went into the women's locker room to shower and get myself ready for the day. I was in the middle of walking back from the shower with a towel wrapped around my body when I heard the door open. Seconds later, Penelope was there. "Good morning, sunshine," she said.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," I said as I reached my gym bag on the floor, sitting down at the bench. "I thought Westbrook called for you guys."

"Oh he did," Penelope confirmed. "I just make it a habit of not showing up. Westbrook's such a micromanager, it's no wonder everybody hates him."

"You should switch to the BAU then," I said. "Agent Delacroix isn't like that."

Penelope put her own gym bag, which had been slung over her shoulder, on the ground. "Oh I know. I worked with Richard for a couple of cases about… two years ago? He's one of the best agents I've ever worked with. I think he comes in third on my list."

"And who are the top two?" I asked, slipping my panties on with the towel still wrapped around my body.

"Jewels and Bash," she answered. "Bash definitely takes the top spot. I've never seen an agent as intelligent and skillful as him." She sat down and opened her bag to pull out a pair of tennis shoes.

I stood up to finish putting my panties on and then bent down to get my bra. "I can see your point."

While I was turned around, putting my bra on, there was some silence that felt a bit awkward to me. But finally Penelope said, "You should probably watch yourself with him though." I turned around, curious. "He's got a thing for you."

Well I wasn't expecting to hear _that_. "Are… how do you know this?"

"Because a few nights ago he came back drunk and horny and tried to get _me_ into bed with him. You can't blame him. After hearing about your little show I probably would have done the same thing."

For me, everything changed in that moment. I swallowed hard. My body was weak. Bash had been so bi-polar around me that I hadn't even noticed. But why _would_ I have? I looked down as I held my shirt in my hands, fiddling with the fabric between my fingers and said, "I… I don't know what to say."

Penelope finished putting her shoes on and stood up. "Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do with this information. I have a thing about keeping professional relationships professional. It's why I didn't let Bash have his way with me. But this whole… _open marriage_ thing you've got going on for this operation? I think, even though it was his idea, he might start to regret it if he's not already."

I stood there feeling awkward, and being half naked didn't help either. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this. I knew Bash had been watching me. Not just that night in the gym but also at the parties. He'd been keeping a close eye on me. I thought it was just part of the operation but maybe it was something deeper. Maybe his own feelings were getting in the way.

I had to do something.

.

After a long day of training, Bash and I returned with Francis to the beach house. The men were getting better, but they still had a long way to go. Francis led us into the house and said, "Well I suppose I'll be seeing you soon, once you've gone back to change."

I'd thought ahead about that. "Actually," I said, which made Francis stop in his tracks and turn around to look at me. Bash seemed a little confused too. "I brought my things with me. We'd like to see what a party looks like when it gets started, not when it's already in full swing."

Francis smiled. "Now that's dedication. I love it. Well you're free to use any of the guest rooms to get ready. Take your pick." He walked backwards mid-sentence, grabbed a bottle of vodka from the liquor table, and turned around, popping the cap off and left it as it fell on the floor while he headed out back.

Bash grabbed my arm gently. "Please tell me this is part of the plan to snoop some more." We hadn't had a chance recently. I didn't blame him for thinking that. Unfortunately… that wasn't the case.

"No, actually," I said. "Get the bags from the car. They're in the trunk. I had Penelope throw yours together. Meet me in the room next to Francis' office."

.

While Bash was getting the bags, I went upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms and started scoping it out. There were cameras and bugs hidden. Security. Of course. This was perfect. A little creepy… but perfect.

The door opened and I looked to see Bash hauling the bags in. "So do you wanna—."

I held up my finger to cut him off. He looked around subtly and spotted the camera, understanding we were being watched… or at least potentially. I moved closer to him taking my bag and brought it over to the bed. "We should probably get cleaned up," I said, trying to sound as casual as possible. "We had a long day."

As he brought his own bag over, he sat it down beside the bed across from me. "Right."

He probably wasn't expecting what I said next. "Meet me in the shower?"

...

A/N: I am sooo sorry for the delay. If you follow me on Tumblr you were already aware, but my muse has been crap lately and I was figuring some things out. Chapter 09 will be here as soon as possible! Leave me some love! I wanna know what you think! :]


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 09.**– IT MIGHT SEEM CRAZY, WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY

_-BASH -_

That couldn't be right.

"I…" I didn't even know what to say.

"Come on… _husband_…" she said, backing towards the bathroom door, giving me a seductive look.

Right. The whole husband and wife thing. Despite having an open marriage, we still had a _marriage_ in this undercover operation. And… married couples _did_ things like that. With cameras everywhere, we had to at least _act_ like a married couple.

And so… with that in mind, my feet started moving towards her. I shut the door to the bathroom when we walked in and she grabbed my hips, pulling me close. She whispered in my ear, "I know you want me, Bash."

She really had no idea.

Next thing I knew, Mary's lips were pressed against my neck. A shudder ran through my body and I let my head fall back as my eyes closed. I slid my hands around her waist and down to her ass, squeezing it and groaning. "Oh God, what are you doing to me?" I whispered.

Mary's lips worked their way from my neck to just behind my ear and then my cheek and finally stopping just before my lips. "It's time for us to be married," she whispered. "I'm going to give my husband what he deserves."

Everything inside of me told me this wasn't just part of the covers we had. If I read between the lines, it was almost as if she was trying to tell me something… like… she _knew_. Had I not been subtle enough? I'd tried to hide it as best as I could, but… maybe I hadn't done a good enough job. This was a test. Mary wanted to know how I felt about her.

Well I wasn't going to lie anymore.

"Do it," I whispered. "Kiss me."

A beat… and then Mary pulled me in by the collar of my shirt, and our lips met.

I couldn't make sense of what was happening next because the Cloud Nine I was on kept rising higher into the atmosphere. As if for the first time I was struck by Cupid's arrow. It seems ridiculous that I, a twenty-eight year old man, would fall in love faster than a Disney princess, but the truth was it had been happening for the past week bit by bit.

But the truth was, I'd never felt this way before. Not with any of the girlfriends I had in the past. None of them were serious enough for me to feel that way. Mary was different. She wasn't going to be just another one night stand, or even a girlfriend I threw to the curb in a month. Then again, she was also my new partner… I couldn't escape her, even if that _were_ the case. What was fate _doing_ to me? I couldn't stand the uncertainty. Because… my _follow-up_ question was: where did _Mary_ stand in all of this?

True, she was giving me what I wanted. And right now, all I really wanted was sex. I was a typical man to admit that. But my inner feelings were going deeper than that, and with each layer of clothing she removed from me and every inch of my skin she kissed, those feelings were coming up to the surface of my being. Little by little. I didn't want to be the fool in this situation. It had been almost a month since my partner was taken from me. I was still in several of the stages of grief. I hadn't come to accept Jewels' death yet. And maybe I was feeling this way because of the need for me to have something besides grief in my life… but I wanted to feel human again. The only time since Jewels' death I'd felt that way was every time I shot my gun… pretending it was Valois' face on my target and shooting him dead between the eyes.

But I still had to wonder what Mary was really thinking? Was this a test? And if so, how was I doing? She'd stripped my down to my boxers at this point and was about ready to take those off. Things happened so fast, I don't even remember stripping her out of her own clothes and her bra. She was down to her panties now, and my heart was beating so fast my breathing was damn near labor. She was _gorgeous_.

One pair of boxers and one pair of panties later and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I turned around and pushed her against the wall, kissing her lips with great fervor and seconds later we were connected.

Every kiss, every touch, every moan that came from either of us was killing my soul. I wanted more. I didn't want it to stop, but… I knew eventually we would both peak and it would all be over. I tried to hold off… I tried to prevent it from happening as long as possible to savor each second… but eventually… it had to happen. And it happened together, her and I.

And as it did, there was a knock on the door.

We both gasped as the knock was followed by the door _opening_. "Sebastian, Mary do you—"

Francis. And he stopped as soon as he saw us, halfway through the door.

"Oh my, I'm sorry," he said, looking away awkwardly.

Under cover. We were under cover. And Sebastian and Mary Whittaker had an _open_ marriage. I had to remind myself of that. How would a couple in an open marriage react?

So… as much as I hated the notion, I smiled. "Oh no, it's fine," I told him as Mary dropped down, letting her feet touch the floor. "We were just… finishing up anyway."

Francis, still looking away, said, "Well I came to see if either of you needed anything, but it appears you have everything you need already."

"Quite so," Mary said. "But we _may_ need you to ask us again in a bit."

I saw Francis' eyes wander over to her. Mary made no effort to cover herself up, but why would she? In truth, I didn't either. But it wasn't me he was looking at. As his eyes wandered back, he said, "Of course. I'll check on you in awhile." Then he disappeared and the door closed.

Mary wrapped her arms around my waist from behind and pulled me back. "Don't let him ruin it," she whispered in my ear as she pushed up on her toes. "We're just getting started."

I turned in her hold and put one hand against the wall, keeping my balance. "Are we now? That must mean I passed."

She ran her hands down to my ass and pulled me as close as possible. "You did. Penelope told me everything. I just wanted to see how serious you were."

"And your verdict?"

"You had sex with me didn't you?"

She had a point.

.

_-MARY -_

Bash and I spent the next hour and a half attempting to get ready for the party but to no avail. We had sex again… and again… and again. First in the shower; then against the bathroom floor as I was trying to put on my makeup; and then again in the bedroom on the bed after I'd already gotten dressed. It was going to take a miracle to re-do everything.

When we finally found the will to stop and actually be _ready_, we went downstairs as people begun to arrive. Among the first were Kenna and Lola and… _Greer_.

"Greer what are you doing here?" I asked, whispering as I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a more private area of the room. "You should be at the field office taking point with the others."

"Didn't you hear?" she asked. I had no idea what she was talking about so I shrugged and shook my head at the same time for her to elaborate. "Westbrook and Delacroix want all of the women undercover. They think we can take more men down and end this sooner. Rumor has it Valois is going to try and break out of prison with the help of his army, which _we've_ now trained into being better warriors."

"But we've been half-assing it," I said. "We had to pump the breaks to _teach_ them how to shoot, but not so they'd be good enough to go up against SWAT."

"Well apparently like father like son because Francis has been in contact with Daddy Dearest and he's told them about you and what you're doing for the men. He wants to congratulate you personally and shake your hands."

I shuddered. Gross.

"Aylee and Penelope will be here soon. Right now Lola and Kenna are going to introduce me to Francis."

"I hope you worked on a dance to get his attention."

Greer gave me a look. "Oh, believe me, Mary, I'll _get_ his attention."

.

After Greer, Aylee, and Penelope won over Francis' approval, the five ladies now undercover with us were sent off with some of Francis' most beloved buyers who attended the party that night. I spent the night sitting in Francis' lap while Bash stayed by the bar like he normally did. I wanted to vomit every second I was in the same breathing space as Francis, but I had to pretend I was interested in him because of this 'open marriage' bullshit we had going on. At first that had been Bash's way of compensating for the fact that our covers were a married couple… but _now_ it was a nuisance. It needed to stop.

Olivia and Natalia were hanging all over Francis as well. Both were half naked of course, their tits hanging out and both were half drunk, damn near at capacity. Their tiny bodies certainly couldn't handle any more. The fact that Francis had seen me naked, though? It made me want to vomit again.

I looked over at Bash who was leaning against the bar, not talking to anybody and nursing a scotch as he scanned the area. He had an earpiece in his ear. I was close enough to Francis that I couldn't have one. So I had no idea what was going on beyond this back yard. But I couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me," I told Francis. "I need to tend to something with my husband."

"Of course," Francis said and helped me up out of his lap.

Seconds later, I was by the bar with Bash. "So?" I asked.

"Nothing yet," he told me. "The guys are all in the van out in front of the house. They said both Aylee and Kenna left with their… _dates_. We have other agents from the field office follow them."

"And the others?"

"I have no idea. No sign of them yet. Still in the house, I presume."

"We can't make any arrests here," I said. "It'll be too messy."

"That and the fact that our covers will be blown," he told me. "But then again, Penelope's the kind that doesn't give a shit and she'll know how to do it quickly and quietly without drawing attention. She's… _talented_ like that."

So _that_ must have been why she was on Bash's team. And here I thought it was because she gave him a good blowjob.

Bash then said, "So… we should… talk about what happened between us."

"You mean the hot sex?" I asked, leaning up against the bar beside him. "What's there to talk about?"

He looked at me. "You said Penelope told you everything. Define _everything_."

"Just that she told me you had the hots for me, and you tried to bang her instead to compensate but she wouldn't let you."

His cheeks turned red and he looked down. "Yeah, not one of my finer moments."

"You were drunk," I said. "Shit happens."

"Yes I guess," he said. "But usually not to me. Not like that."

I moved an inch closer to him. "I'm not very good at talking about feelings," I said. "But I'll be up front… I thought you were an asshole when we first met. Now I see that it's all part of your grieving process, and I can't blame you for that. I've also had a chance to see the real Bash and I really like _him_. He's a really fucking good agent and a person with a good heart." I paused, then added, "And he's also _really_ good in bed." Bash laughed. I couldn't help but join him. "But… seriously… if you want to talk about Jewels, I'd love to get to know who she was. It seems that no one else knows her better than you."

Bash looked at me and grinned. "I might take you up on that. But… not tonight. We have a job to do."

Touching his arm, I said, "Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that."

...

A/N: Again, I apologize for the delay! I just recently found a job so that stress is gone, but the end of the semester is here so I'm busy busy busy trying to finish classes. I will definitely try to update more but it all depends on how my muse works with me. Chapter 10 coming soon! Let me know what you thought about this one! Think you guys can get me to 10+ reviews for this chapter? I'd love you all forever! ;]

Also, HAPPY MASH APPRECIATION WEEK! (If you're not on Tumblr you don't know what this means, but I'm gonna assume you all are so you get the wish anyway, haha!) :] -heart-


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10.**– WE'RE ALL LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO BE

_-BASH -_

I was right. Penelope, in her stubborn ways, arrested the man she'd been given to and quietly escorted him out of the house and down the block to where a patrol car was waiting. Mary and I stood out on the front lawn and saw the van we knew the guys were in. Moments later, we saw Lola leaving with her scumbag but they were going to a different location.

Mary and I stuck around for a couple more hours. As we were getting ready to leave, we got an urgent call from the Bureau. I answered my phone and put it on speaker. "This is Poitiers," I said as we were walking out of the house. No one was around so I was alright answering with my real name.

"Bash," Westbrook said. "Where the hell are you?"

"Leaving the Valois house, why?" I didn't like Westbrook's tone. It was… off.

"We have a situation. Agent Hale was rushed to the hospital."

Both Mary and I stopped dead in our tracks. I was in shock, but Mary's was amplified by ten. "Wh-what?" she asked.

"She was in the middle of arresting the man she took off with when he pulled a knife on her. She managed to shoot him and brought him down, but she was gravely injured with several stab wounds to the abdomen."

Within seconds, Mary and I were in the car on our way up to the hospital where the other members of our team were gathered in the waiting room. I felt like I was having déjà vu… wasn't I _just_ in this scenario a few weeks ago? Standing in a waiting room with my fellow agents while our colleague was on an operating table after being injured by a criminal? I wanted to throw up… my ears were ringing, my head was pounding… I was in the middle of having a panic attack. All I could think about was Jewels. Aylee's life was in the balance just like my old partner. It was up to God now whether she lived or died.

I didn't even hear my name in full, but I could hear the faintness of people's voices while I started to get dizzy. Suddenly… it was black.

.

It was five in the morning when I woke up. Penelope and Leith were by my side in the hospital room I was now in, dressed in a gown and hooked up to IVs. I was confused. What had happened? I didn't remember anything past arriving at the hospital. But Penelope saw me waking up first and got Leith's attention. "Bash?" she asked, standing up and coming to my side, bending down. "Bash, can you hear me?"

I moaned in slight pain and confusion. "Wha—what happened?"

"You had a panic attack," Leith said, now standing by Penelope's side. "…so bad that you passed out. They admitted you to monitor you."

Some of it came back to me but not all of it. But I didn't care about myself right now. I looked at both of them, from one to the other, and asked, "Where's Aylee?"

They both looked down. I could tell by their facial expressions that she was dead. _No_.

Leith said, "Westbrook and Delacroix are on their way down. It's time to nail Valois and everyone who works for him or is associated with him in any sense of the word. We've already lost two agents to this family… we will _not_ lose a third."

Penelope helped me sit up and held a cup of water close to me, telling me to drink slowly through the straw. I was discharged around eight in the morning after getting some more sleep. Penelope and Leith led me out of the hospital and, even though the doctor told me to take it easy and get some rest at the hotel, I demanded my team members take me to the field office.

The first person I saw in the conference room was Mary. She'd been crying. Her face was stained with tears but she wasn't crying any more. Lola, Greer, Kenna, and Philip looked distraught too. They'd known her better than myself, Penelope, Leith, Julien, or Alec. But we knew what they were going through. We'd just lost a member of our own team.

Westbrook and Agent Richard Delacroix were already there. With OC and the BAU coming together, we needed to take a drastic step forward. "We've suffered too much loss," Westbrook said. "Two of our agents have been taken from us. It's not right. We can't let these lowlife's get away with this. We have all of the evidence we need. Bash and Mary have seen the illegal substances in person. We need to run a diversion."

Leith pulled out a chair for me and I sat down. After doing so, I asked, "And how do you suggest we do _that_?"

Crossing his arms and looking at me, Westbrook said, "Exigent circumstances."

Julien said, "Wait a minute. How can we manage to do _that_? We'd have to be pursuing a criminal on the premises of his estate or the warehouse, _or_ he'd have to invite us in."

Agent Delacroix said, "He already did." Then he gestured to Mary and I.

My eyes widened. "Wait a second, you want us to _blow_ our _covers_?"

"You won't be doing it alone," Westbrook said. "You're going to bring all of the ladies with you. We'll have a SWAT team on standby and we will _personally_ oversee this operation. No more commands from Quantico. The Director is getting restless and he wants this family _gone_."

I looked at Mary, but she didn't look back at me. I knew she was hurting. I'd been in her shoes. Aylee had been one of her team members;… her best friends. It was impossible to think she was dead, but she was. Accepting it was the hard reality. Being in four of the five stages of grief myself?...I understood.

.

When we got back to the hotel, planning on taking Francis and his men down tomorrow afternoon, I went to my room and laid down on the bed. It was too silent in my room. I laid there and looked at the clock for a good half hour before there was a knock on my door. Slowly, I got up to answer it and was shocked to find Mary standing there. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Tell me about Jewels," she said.

I wasn't about to object. So I stood aside and let her in, closing the door once she was. Going over to the bed, we both sat down. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Jewels… was my best friend. We met when I was first assigned to Organized Crime. Her father was an agent and she learned everything she knew from him. In many ways… she was my mentor. She didn't have children to pass her knowledge to so she passed it to me… her partner." I fought to keep it together, knowing I couldn't get emotional any more. "We… bonded right away. It was one of the fastest relationships I'd ever formed with someone. Soon after we were more than just a set of partners. Leith joined in the group. And quite frequently Alec, Julien, and Penelope were working with us so they were unofficial, honorary members of our squad. Jewels and I… we were the glue that kept everyone together. But she did most of the work. She was the most intelligent, skilled woman I ever met. She was one hell of an agent. I wouldn't be the agent I was if not for her."

It was quiet after that. I didn't know what else to say. I knew Mary was hurting right now over the death of Aylee, but I didn't know how to comfort her. Three weeks had passed, almost four, and I still hadn't accepted Jewels' death. How could I comfort someone when I wasn't even past the point of needing comforting for myself?

Finally… Mary spoke. "Aylee was a class behind me at Quantico. She was a genius. I'd never seen someone so enthusiastic about working for the Bureau. It… it almost made me wonder… '_How did such a bubbly person get into the FBI?_'" I laughed with her, and I saw the first smile on her face since Aylee had died. "But then I got to see her brain in action. It was incredible. She wasn't the kind of agent you expected, but the lady knew how to do the job."

I hadn't gotten to know Aylee very well. I don't think any of us did. She worked mostly behind the scenes on the case until just last night after Westbrook and Delacroix threw her to the front lines, which ultimately resulted in her death. I could see the tears running down Mary's face, one by one, almost in perfect crooked symmetry with one another. "I'm _so_ sorry," I said. "I… I can't imagine what you must be going through."

Mary looked at me. "Of course you do. You're the only one who does."

Yeah… she was right. I _was_ the only one. And I wasn't going to let her become me… holed up in an apartment for two weeks, doing nothing but sleeping and sulking. We had a job to do. We were in the middle of this case. Every person involved with the Valois family would pay for this. We'd lost two amazing agents to them. It was time they lost everything they had _but_ the air in their lungs.

Mary touched my face gently and I put a hand over hers. We looked into each other's eyes and drifted closer until we were kissing. It started out soft, which was fine, but… then it started to get a little heavy. I pulled away and said, "Mary, we… we shouldn't be doing this. You're not okay."

"Neither are you," she rebutted.

Again, she was right. She was _always_ right. Goddamn it, I hated that. Why was I so stupid? I had little moments of being rational, only to have them thrown back in my face. Had I _always_ been like this?

No matter what I thought… I wasn't going to stop. Not if Mary didn't want to.

So I kissed her again and didn't hold back.

.

_-MARY -_

Three a.m. I woke in Bash's arms in the pitch black hotel room where my only course of light was the slight sliver of moonlight shinning through the drapes. My eyes and the skin of my face were tender from crying. Bash was sound asleep. It was absolutely silent in the room except for the sound of our breathing. His skin was so warm against mine, I didn't want to move. I didn't want to wake him up by moving even a millimeter.

I thought about Aylee. It hurt, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. The only relief I had from the pain was making love to Bash just a few hours ago before I fell asleep. I didn't know so much could happen in just a couple of days. It felt so selfish of me… here I was, damn near falling in love with my new partner while one of my team members had her life taken from her. What would have happened if Bash and I had left the Valois house and got ready at the hotel or the field office? Could we have stopped Westbrook and Delacroix from sending the others out into the field? Could we have saved Aylee's life? Could _I_ have?

I would never know… because I was too busy pushing Bash to his limits and forcing him to reveal his true feelings for me, all because of something Penelope said.

I hated myself. This was all my fault.

.

I didn't remember falling asleep again but when I woke up it was bright… _too_ bright. It took me a moment to register what was going on. But Bash was sitting up, holding me in his arms. I could smell coffee in the room, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I looked up and saw him looking at me. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," I said. "How long have you been awake?"

"About an hour," he answered quietly. "Leith brought us coffee. Westbrook and Delacroix told him that you're taking the day off and that's an order."

"But… what about the operation?"

"Penelope had a nice long bitch-fest with them. Convinced them that we could handle it on our own."

I sat up and said, "No… Bash, I can _do_ this."

"No," he said, sliding his arm under my legs and pulling me onto his lap. "You can't. You're grieving."

"So are _you_," I told him. "You've been grieving for _weeks_ and you're in the field working!"

Bash put a hand on my cheek. "Mary, stop. Your wounds are fresh. Mine aren't. I have to agree with them. You and the girls take the day off. Philip's going to come with us and we're going to take Francis down on our own."

I shook my head. "No. I won't let you. This is _our_ fight. Every single one of ours."

"And you're in no _condition_ to fight," he told me gently, but firmly. "_I'm_ going to fight for you… for _all_ of you. And I won't let you defy an order."

Tears filled my eyes. I didn't want to be sidelined like this. I wanted to fight for Aylee. I wasn't going to stand for this. "No… no," I said, shaking my head. "I'm going. You can't stop me. I'll deal with the SACs later. I'm going to fight for my friend. If you really care about me… you'll let me do this."

He was silent. It was too quiet for a few moments as he rested his forehead against mine. Then… he whispered, "I can't let you. Because… I love you."

...

A/N: I know you all REEEEEEEEEEEALLY needed this after that new promo was released. (Kennash sex? -gags- All the Frary? -stabs self in the stomach-) Chapter 11 will be on its way soon. I didn't get to 10 for the last chapter, so do you guys think you can get me there for this one? -heart-


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11.**– POINT OF AUTHORITY

_-MARY -_

When Bash had told me he loved me in the hotel room, I wasn't sure I could say it back and really mean it. But the one thing I _could_ do was storm into the field office and start demanding I be let into the field for this arrest. I arrived with Bash running in after me. He hadn't agreed to this yet. But I was going to make them all see I was fine. Yes, it hurt my soul that Aylee was gone. I had the rest of my life to grieve though. Right now I had to job to do.

Westbrook and Delacroix were surprised to see me when I stormed into the conference room. "Mary," Westbrook said, "what are you doing here?"

"You can't take me out of the field right now," I told him straight-up. "My team and I have a _job _to do. We can grieve later."

"Mary," Delacroix said, "We can't have you seeking revenge for your fellow agent's death."

That stung because it was a load of dog crap. "What about _Bash_?!" I asked, holding my arm and hand out in his direction, gesturing towards him. "What about _his_ revenge for _Jewels_?!"

My Section Chief came around the table. "Mary, Bash is a more experienced agent who knows when it's time to step out of the field. He took himself out for two weeks after her death. He's had time to process this."

"Bullshit!" I shouted. "He's still in the grieving process!"

Penelope, who was on the other side of the room in the corner with Leith and Alec, said, "She's right. He told me he was in four of the five stages. He's in no position either to go out there."

Bash shot a look at Penelope. "Penny, what the hell?!" he asked like she'd just stabbed him in the back.

I pulled out my phone, "I won't stand for this."

"Who are you calling?" Westbrook asked as I turned away and put my phone up to my ear, leaving the room. I stepped outside and made a call to the one person I knew I could trust to get me in on this bust. When I finished, I stepped back into the room. Westbrook's phone was ringing. He looked at the number and then looked back up at me. "You didn't," he said.

"I did," I said firmly.

Westbrook looked annoyed. But he answered his phone and said, "This is Westbrook." It was on speaker…

So we heard when Director Castleroy spoke. "_Simon, I just received a call from one of your very disgruntled agents._"

"Sir, let me explain—"

"_No, you listen to me Agent Westbrook,_" Castleroy said, cutting him off. "_You and Agent Delacroix are going to allow Agent Stuart into the field,_ but _she must pass a psych evaluation_ first_. I'm authorizing every single member of your teams to one right now. I'll be alerting the psych department at the South Beach office, and I want the reports brought directly to me._"

I smirked as Westbrook and Delacroix looked up at me, clearly not happy about what just happened. Director Castleroy could go over their heads. He was running the entire Bureau after all.

As soon as they got off the phone with him, we were all taken down to see the psychiatrist at the office. One by one, we went in and were asked the usual questions. I went in with a great confidence that I would pass. And as soon as we were all finished, we were back in the conference room waiting for Director Castleroy to call back with the results. I sat between Penelope and Lola at the round table, while the others either sat or paced the floor.

Finally the phone rang.

Castleroy wasted no time. "_Well I have good news and bad news,_" he said. "_The good news is, everyone did fairly well. The bad news is… two of you didn't pass._"

"Who?" Delacroix asked.

"_Mary and Penelope._"

"WHAT?!" Penelope and I screamed in unison, completely shocked.

"_You just barely missed the marks in order to pass,_" he told us. "_I'm sorry, but I can't allow you two in the field for this operation. You'll have to remain behind at the office._"

I was outraged. "This is bullshit!" I said. "How in the hell did Bash pass?!"

"_He passed with flying colors_," Castleroy said. "_Maybe he's healed more than he thinks_."

I looked at Bash, suddenly jealous of him, and completely pissed off. His eyes met mine, and I knew he knew I was angry. He looked away, and I honestly didn't blame him. I wouldn't want to look at my pissed off face either.

When we were dismissed, I got up and stormed out of the room. Bash ran after me, but I slipped into the bathroom before he could get my attention in full. I knew he was there, and I heard his voice as he begged me to stop walking away, but I didn't want to talk to him. There were really no words to describe how I was feeling. Mostly I was just pissed.

In the bathroom and grabbed hold of the sink with both hands and looked down as a million different thoughts swarmed through my head. There was a ringing in my ears and I was so angry I started shaking. Then, out of nowhere, I looked up and punched the mirror in front of me, shattering the glass and cutting my knuckles in the process.

It hurt like hell.

I didn't cry out. But my mouth opened and I tried to cradle my shredded hand, dripping with blood and covered in fragments of glass. Nothing would come out of my mouth, but I didn't want it to. I was so angry, that I'd let my anger get the best of me. My entire body started shaking again, but for different reasons… mostly the sting of the cuts against the dry air. With a shaky hand—the good one—I grabbed the knob and turned the faucet on, putting my hand under cold water. I stung even worse.

Greer came into the bathroom and saw me. She then saw the broken mirror. "Mary!" she exclaimed. "What the hell did you do?!"

Tears were streaming down my face, though I tried to hold them back despite the pain. I didn't say a word. But Greer came over and took off her scarf, wrapping my hand in it and led me out of the bathroom. When we made it out into the bullpen, everyone was looking at me.

I didn't care. I would get my hand taken care of… and then I would be at the bust, no matter what my psych evaluation said.

.

_-BASH -_

I was absolutely shocked when Greer led Mary out of the bathroom, her hand wrapped in the scarf Greer had been wearing before she went in. Several people rushed into the bathroom to see. What met my eyes stunned me as I did the same, seeing the broken glass of the mirror and drops of blood from Mary's hand. I couldn't believe she was _that_ pissed off over this. I didn't think I would pass the psych eval, but apparently I had. Mary's wounds were fresh. I was concerned about her well-being. Of course I knew she could take care of herself, but was it so bad for me to try and protect her? I didn't want her out there five minutes ago, and now I _really_ didn't want her in the field.

Penelope wouldn't speak to me either. She was pissed off too. So much so that she actually went back to the hotel without telling any of us. The security guard had to tell us she'd walked out. That left myself, Alec, Julien, Leith, Lola, Greer, and Kenna to run this bust. I didn't know how we were going to do it… but we had to try.

Kenna approached me while I sat in the conference room. "Have you figured out what you're going to tell Francis about Mary?" she asked.

I sighed and sat back in my chair. "Westbrook said I should tell him she was feeling under the weather. And right now, I'm too worried about her to even argue with him."

She sat down next to me. "Did you cheat your way to a passing grade on the psych eval?" she asked.

"No," I answered, looking at her to let her know I was serious. "I swear to God I didn't cheat. I passed that test fair and square. I don't know how, but I did." Kenna pressed her lips together. I could tell she had something to say, but she was wary about it. "What?" I asked, point blank.

"I just got off the phone with Greer," she said. "Mary's convinced you cheated. And… she's going to be there. She told Greer, "You can't stop me." She's defying the director's orders, Bash. This could get her in serious trouble."

Kenna didn't actually have to tell me that. I knew Mary would get in a heaping load of trouble if she carried out with her stubborn ways. The pain inside of her caused by Aylee's death was blinding her from reality. It was why doctors weren't allowed to treat family members… their judgment went out the window. The ability to be rational didn't exist.

How in the hell was I going to stop her? Or… maybe not _stop_ her… but prevent her from doing something that got her fired, hurt… or worse… killed?

...

A/N: I apologize for the lengthy wait. But here's the good news... finals week is here and I'll be free after that! Thursday the eighth is my official last day for the semester, so I won't have school as an excuse anymore. :p Please review and let me know your thoughts! I will get Chapter 12 to you as soon as humanly possible! xo


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12.**– POINT OF NO RETURN

_-MARY -_

"Mary, stop!"

I didn't listen to Greer as she ran after me. The doctor had discharged me after stitching up my hand and bandaging it as well. I wasn't wasting any time. I was going to get to that complex and take Francis down myself. I might have been risking my entire career, which had just barely started, on this but I didn't care. There was a job to be done. I was going to do it.

Before Greer could stop me, I got into our car and pulled away, leaving her behind on the curb. I had my badge and my gun with me. I wasn't exactly dressed the way Mary Whittaker would dress, but I didn't need to dress up like her. This ended here and now.

.

_-BASH -_

"We're on our way," I said and hit the end button on my phone after speaking with Greer who informed us that Mary had abandoned her at the hospital. "Julien, Alec, pick Greer up from the hospital and meet us there." They nodded and left the room while Lola, Kenna, Leith and I packed up our things to leave. Westbrook and Delacroix were on the phone with Director Castleroy, speaking to them about Mary. That's when I remembered… "Has anyone seen Penelope?"

Everyone stopped and looked around. After a few moments, Lola said, "There."

I looked in the direction she pointed. Penelope was sitting in the corner of the field office, looking out the window. She seemed to be in quite the stare and I almost didn't want to bother her. But I knew I had to. "Go," I told the others. "I'll catch up with you." They were gone in moments and I found myself walking over to Penelope. She didn't move but I knew she knew I was there. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Penelope didn't look at me as she spoke. She held onto the coffee cup she held in her hands and continued staring out the window. "I miss Juliet," she said.

I realized that she was still grieving too… more so than me, which was why she hadn't passed the psych eval. I sighed and said, "I know."

She looked at me. "I'm sorry. I wanted to bring him down but… I couldn't. I tried to do my best to put my feelings aside. They were just too strong."

Penelope had done a lot of consoling for other people that she hadn't had time to take care of her own emotions. I understood that now. She'd spent so much time giving me therapy sessions that I should have done the same for her, no matter how shitty I was feeling. "We all grieve differently," I told her gently. "And you didn't do anything wrong. You need time to miss Juliet and to _feel_." I rarely ever called Jewels by her real name but… Penelope just had and I felt like it wouldn't be appropriate to address her by her nickname. "This job takes a lot out of us."

A small, sad grin crossed her lips. "Yeah… it does. Too much."

I put my hand on Penelope's shoulder. "I'll fight for her. I'll fight for all of us."

"Just don't get yourself killed, alright?"

I smiled. "I promise."

.

_-MARY -_

Francis was inside. His men were surrounding the outside. I couldn't see any of my fellow agents or the police, but I must've had a good head start on them. That meant I could deal with this myself with no one to stop me. I got out of the car and Francis' men let me through. I walked into the warehouse to find Francis tending to some of his new cars that had been illegally imported. "Francis," I said.

He looked up and then in my direction. "Mary! I wasn't expecting you for a good while," he said upon standing up straight, having been bent over one of the cars… probably inspecting it. "Where's Sebastian?"

"He won't be joining us just yet," I said. "But this is between me and you." I pulled out my gun and my badge. "Francis Valois, put your hands above your head and tell your men to stand down." I aimed my gun at his head. Several of his men reached for their own guns.

"You… you're a fed?" he asked, shocked.

"Hands above your head!" I ordered.

My voice made him jump a little but he did as I said and told his men to stand down. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Special Agent Mary Stuart of the FBI. And Sebastian isn't my husband—he's my partner." I held my gun with one hand while using the other to put my badge away. After I did, I pulled out the handcuffs. "He's on our way with our team and we're going to take you and your family down for everything you have. Just like your father."

Francis seemed genuinely surprised by all of this. I looked for signs in his body language that would tell me otherwise… I had a feeling that he was just being a real good actor. He knew the feds were after him, but he didn't realize the feds had been on the _inside_ for the last couple weeks. "I'm nothing like my father," he said.

I had to laugh. "Right. Taking over the family business? Dealing in illegal substances and items? Sounds _nothing_ like Henry Valois." I wasn't convinced.

"You don't know anything about me," Francis said. "Just because he's related means he's guilty by association, right?"

"Nothing you could say would convince me otherwise," I said. "Now get down on your knees. Keep your hands above your head."

I kept a sharp eye on him while he slowly dropped to his knees, keeping his hands above his head as I'd instructed. When he was down, I slowly moved toward him, not lowering my gun. A few steps later and I was directly in front of him. I lowered my gun and grabbed him with that same hand after putting it away, ready to cuff him.

That's when he kicked my feet out from under me… and a gun went off.

.

_-BASH -_

"Agent Poitiers, shots have been fired," I heard over the radio from our friends at the local PD near the warehouse. "Repeat, shots have been fired."

I hit the talk button on my end. "Is Agent Stuart inside?"

"We can't confirm that. She may have arrived before we did."

Damn it! I had no way of knowing if Mary was inside or if she was safe. If she arrived after the local PD, they would have stopped her under my orders. But if she was already inside… there was a chance she would be injured. She didn't have the force she needed to take down Francis and his men. "We're three minutes out," I said into the CB. "Do _not_ move until we arrive."

"Understood, Agent."

Lola was driving and we had our sirens going. She literally had the gas pedal to the floor and we were going as fast as this SUV would take us. Leith and I were strapped into our Kevlar and our guns were ready. Kenna was working on her vest in the front seat.

We got another call on the radio. "Bash, come in."

I hit the talk button. "Go ahead Alec."

"Julien and I picked up Greer and we're about ten minutes out. Don't wait for us."

They were several minutes behind us but we couldn't wait, even if they'd asked. And they wouldn't because they knew protocol. Surely they'd been listening to the conversation I was having with the local authorities. "Hurry," I said. "We don't have much time. We don't even know where Mary is."

.

_-MARY -_

The bullet had been intended for me. But it missed.

I knocked Francis down on the ground and we struggled for control. He tried to get my gun but I kicked him in the stomach, forcing him up in the air and off of me as it happened. Getting back to my feet, I grabbed him again to try and cuff him, but he knocked the cuffs out of my hands and they slid across the floor. He wrestled me to the ground but I kept up with him, pushing him down to the ground and pinning him down.

"What are you waiting for?!" he shouted to his men. "Shoot her!"

The disadvantage I had was not having my vest on. But even if I had… they had the Cop Killers in their weapons. I was dead either way.

...

A/N: I apologize for this being so short. Good news is I passed both of the finals I had to take. Bad news is my brain still isn't fully functioning yet. Ahaa. xD ... Anywho, I hope to make Chapter 13 much longer than these last couple have been. Hang tight! I will try to get it to you as soon as possible! Let me know what you think! Love you aaaaaall! -heart-


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13.**– HOLDING ON, HOLDING ON TODAY

_-BASH -_

"More shots fired! Repeat, more shots fired!"

I picked up the walkie and said, "We're almost there, do _not_ move!" The van turned the corner and we were in the boatyard in sight of the police officers that we were corresponding with. It skidded to a stop and before it even had, I had the door opened and was jumping out with the others. "Go!" I ordered. We rushed inside and found Francis and his men trying to escape. "FBI!" I shouted. "Nobody move!"

From all sides, our men took position. Francis and his men had nowhere to run.

Lola and Kenna stood by my sides, guns raised and ready to fire if anyone made a move. My eyes were focused on Francis that I didn't even notice Mary. It was Kenna's voice that alerted me. "Mary!"

We looked to the center of the warehouse. Mary laid face down in a pool of blood and my heart jumped out of my chest. _No_, I thought. "Anybody moves an _inch_ and we shoot." Slowly, I made my way down the stairs with Lola and Kenna and rushed to Mary's side while they covered me. I rolled her over. The blood was coming from her back. She'd been shot from behind. "Mary," I said, holding her in my arms. My body was going into shock. I'd been in this situation before with Jewels. I couldn't bear to do it again. "Mary can you hear me?"

The door opened from the other side and the others rushed in. I looked up at Leith who was my upper left hand corner, and then to Alec, Greer, and Julien who had just come in. They could all see the look on my face. Mary's eyes were closed. She didn't have a pulse. I couldn't bear the thought… she couldn't be dead.

I nodded to Leith to head for Francis. He did and lowered his gun. "Francis Valois, you're under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." He grabbed him from behind and cuffed him. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. You can decide to exercise these rights at any time…"

I zoned out at that point, hearing Lola more clearly as she got on the radio and said, "We have a federal agent down, we need an ambulance here _immediately_."

Within minutes the ambulance arrived. They were able to find a faint pulse for Mary and rushed her to the hospital with me in the back accompanying her. She was barely hanging on, but I held her hand and told her—regardless of whether or not she could hear me—that it would be okay.

Leith, Julien, and Greer escorted Francis and his men to the jail where they'd be held, hopefully without bail. Only a judge could make that call though. Mary was taken in to surgery while I was left out in the waiting room. Lola and Kenna joined me at the hospital while Alec talked to the media, which had gotten a hold of the story. One of the doctors came out to inform us what was going on with Mary.

"She was shot three times. Two of the bullets lodged in her spine and the other just missed her heart. We're going to remove the bullets and do all we can… but there's a chance she may be paralyzed, given where the bullets hit."

My eyes widened. Mary might live, but she might be paralyzed. She would never be able to walk again. There was still the possibility that she could die… but I was choosing to believe that God wouldn't be that cruel to this team three times. We'd lost Jewels… Aylee… we couldn't lose Mary.

Soon the whole team was there, including Penelope, Westbrook, and Delacroix. We waited anxiously over several hours. I was exhausted. I eventually stopped pacing the floor and took a spot in the corner of the waiting room while Penelope came to sit by my side. She took my hand and said, "It's gonna be okay."

I couldn't look at her. I just looked at the floor between my legs with my head down; my posture slouching. "I can't go through this again. I just can't."

"You don't have to," she said. "You're not alone here, Bash. You have _all_ of us and we're all here waiting for her to pull through. We won."

I shook my head. "We haven't won yet. Not until she comes out of the OR alive."

Penelope squeezed my hand and said, "Bash, Francis and all of the people who work for the Valois family are behind bars now. It will take an act of God for them to be acquitted. Before you know it, Francis will be sharing a cell with Daddy Dearest and we'll get to put this case behind us."

Honestly I couldn't wait for that day. I needed something a little more tame to work on now. After this nightmare of a case, something had to give. I still loved my job and I wanted that promotion to SAC, but I couldn't keep taking on the heavy cases. My team and I were stressed out. Particularly me. I'd gone through the biggest of losses and I couldn't go through another one. "She has to live," I said. "She has to… or I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"You will go on," she said. "I know it." She squeezed my hand again and laid her head on my shoulders. I laid mine on her head and shut my eyes, hoping she was right. But… I had that feeling this was going to happen again. I would lose someone else important to me. I might not have known Aylee, but she was an important member of this case. Her loss affected me on a certain level; the same that would affect the Bureau for losing another agent.

I sat there for hours. It seemed like an eternity, each minute longer than the next. And then… the doctor finally came out. I stood quickly, hoping for good news. I couldn't tell by the expression on her face. Something looked off but I couldn't judge right now. Doctors weren't really supposed to show any emotions. Kind of like FBI agents.

"The surgery was touch and go for awhile," she started. "But I was able to remove all of the bullets and repaired what I could of her spine. She'll be off of her feet for a few months but she's alive and she's being taken to recovery."

The team was excited by this news. It brought me in particular so much relief to hear her say those words. _Alive_. Mary was _alive_. I wasn't sure how much more heartache I could take in these few weeks, but I was given a glimmer of hope in that moment.

"When can we see her?" Westbrook asked.

"She'll be in recovery for some time, and visiting hours start at seven. You'll be able to see her then. She should be awake and alert by that point."

It was currently one in the morning. The surgery had lasted _so_ long. I had six hours to kill before I could see her. Westbrook suggested I go back to the hotel to get some sleep, but I knew I didn't want to leave. So Lola and Greer volunteered to stay with me. The others went back to the hotel.

I eventually fell asleep in the same corner after I sat back down. Lola and Greer woke me up at five minutes to seven in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee. I drank quickly, despite the fact that I probably burned the roof of my mouth and my tongue _and_ my throat, but I didn't care. I was finished by the time another doctor came to tell us we could see her, and that she was awake and asking for us.

Lola, Greer, and I spoke to Mary for awhile, listening to her apologize for doing what she did. Lola told her that we weren't the ones she should be apologizing too. Greer also informed her that Director Castleroy was on his way down in person, and my body cringed in that moment. That couldn't be good news. Was he going to fire Mary in person? She'd risked her own life and couldn't have jeopardized the entire case by doing what she did… being fired was the _least_ of what she deserved. She'd be lucky if they didn't put a burn notice out on her.

But… we'd all been there. Maybe not on the same scale. But we had.

When Castleroy arrived with Westbrook and Delacroix around nine that morning, we were asked to step out. In the waiting room we found the rest of our team. Nobody seemed to know anything. But _nobody_ expected Castleroy to walk out of there without having fired Mary. We could only wait and hear the news from Mary herself.

It was a good half hour before the three men walked out of the room and told us to all report back to the field office by two. After they left, I went into Mary's room. "What happened?" I asked.

"I'm being suspended," she said. "Two weeks, not paid, effective when I can return to work… which technically won't be for awhile."

Well that was a hell of a lot better than what I was expecting. I went to sit down beside her and took her hand. "I thought for sure they were going to fire you."

She laughed. "Castleroy nearly did. He said he contemplated on the flight down here whether he should or not. But in the end he decided not to… much to Westbrook's disgust, I might add."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't really surprise me."

"Delacroix seemed relieved though. They know I'm one of the best the BAU has to offer right now."

"Yes you are," I said and kissing her hand. "I'm just happy you're alive and you're going to recover."

"I've got a long road ahead of me, that's for sure," she said. "And I want you by my side the whole way."

I smiled. "I wouldn't miss it."

.

_-MARY -_

As I laid there with him holding my hand, I forgot about the intense pain running throughout my body. The morphine helped a little but I could still feel this odd sensation that reminded me the pain was there. It was mostly in my back. Not surprising since I'd gotten shot there twice, right in my spine. Those Cop Killers could have taken me down for good. I should be dead. But I wasn't. And since I wasn't, I should have been fired. But I wasn't. I was just being suspended for awhile.

It made me believe I was given another chance. A chance to do things rights… all with Bash by my side. "Look… I don't know if I'm at the point where I love you yet… but I know I'm getting there. I've never felt this way about anybody before, and I want to see where it goes. So… all I can say for now is… I'm _falling_ for you, Bash."

He smiled. "That's good enough for me… for now."

.

_[8 MONTHS LATER]_

It was my first day back on the job. I was back on my feet, my suspension was over, and after many grueling hours of physical therapy, I was an agent again. Both Francis and his father were put on trial and found guilty. They would be in prison for a _long_ ass time. Justice did exist in this world.

Bash had picked me up on our way in to work, but he made an unexpected turn that I knew for a fact wouldn't take us to the field office. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he answered.

I sat in the passenger's seat of the car and watched the road ahead, trying to figure out where he was taking me. And I eventually figured it out when I saw a church on the side of the road with a graveyard on the far side. When we were both out, he took my hand and led me to a spot in the far corner of the graveyard under some trees and surrounded by lilacs.

"Hi, Jewels," he said. I looked at the headstone. This was his Jewels… his best friend and partner. "I told you I was gonna bring her one day." He looked at me and said, "This is Mary Stuart… the love of my life. Mary, this is Juliet."

I waved to the headstone. "Hi. Bash has told me so many wonderful things about you."

It was silent for a few moments, but then Bash laughed. "Yeah I know, I got kinda lucky. Way too hot for me, right?" That made me laugh. I nudged him in the side. "You see what she did to me?" he asked Jewels' grave. "So abusive," he joked.

"He's just as abusive right back," I told her.

Bash smiled and looked at me. "It's only because I love her." He leaned in to kiss me and I kissed him right back. It was silent for a few more moments, but then Bash said, "She approves. Just as I expected she would."

I smiled back at him. "Good. Because she'd just have to deal with the fact that I love you anyway if she didn't."

...

A/N: And there you have it! I know I didn't give any indication that this was going to be the last chapter, but I felt like the story was finished at this point. If you follow me on Tumblr ( agentcharliewarren) you MIGHT have seen my post about it. (I also think I took the post down by now so you can't go find it ahahaha.) My next fic is going to be coming SOON. It's going to be a regular universe (not an AU-shocking, I know). It'll be Mash/Frola/Greith based, starting after '_Dirty Laundry_' ended and finishing out the rest of the season... maybe going into season two territory. I have no idea yet. But I hope y'all come back for it! Thank you so much for reading! Make sure you check out _Into the Fire_ and _Don't Let Go_, and add me to your favorite authors so you know right away when the next fic is out! xoxoxo


End file.
